Thrown to the Wulves
by Phoenix-cry
Summary: Jackson the Wulf hybrid and his new wayward pup are back! This is the third story in this series starting with SG1 K9. I've upped the rating because this has turned a little angsty.
1. Chapter 1

NOTE from the PHOENIX: This is the third story in this series, starting with SG-1 K-9.

**Thrown to the Wulves**

Chapter One

"Oh my God...it hurts so much."

"Well maybe if you'd stop laughing for five seconds..."

"I can't help it," Jack panted on the other end of the phone "it's just so funny. Oh...my ribs...it's too early for this."

"I fail to see the humour in this."

"Yeah, well you would, Daniel."

"Jack, what am I going to do?"

"Do what I'm about to do: go back to bed."

With that said Jack hung up the phone. Daniel sighed heavily and put down his own phone. He should have known that Jack would be no help, but he had to call someone. Suddenly finding himself being kicked in the lower back Daniel turned around from his position on the edge of the bed. Jackson was chasing something in his sleep.

"Hey!" Daniel poked Jackson in the ribs. "Wake up, this little bundle of trouble is your fault, I'm not babysitting..."

Daniel looked down on the floor where the young Wulf mutt had been sleeping in her blanket only seconds ago. There was no sign of her now. Daniel got up and looked under the bed, but she wasn't there either.

"Jackson, where is she?"

Jackson managed a good approximation of a shrug.

"Don't give me that, you're her father, go find her."

Rolling his golden eyes Jackson slowly got up and stretched out. Jumping down off the bed he put his nose to the carpet and started sniffing out the pup's trail. He made his way over to the closet which was open just a fraction. Jackson pushed the door open enough to put his head in.

Jackson backed out of the closest with the puppy's neck scruff delicately between his large teeth. She in turn had a pair of Daniel's boxers in her sharp little teeth. Jackson brought his daughter over to Daniel and plopped her down on the floor. She continued to shred the silk fabric.

"You've been in my house less than ten minutes and already you're eating my underwear?" Daniel asked vexed as he pulled them away from her.

Looking up at Daniel with her oddly mismatched eyes she wagged her slightly curled tail. Daniel held up the boxers and discovered that she'd already munched a sizable hole in them. By the time he looked back at her she was gone again.

"How can something so small move so fast?"

Jackson was wondering the same thing when suddenly he yelped. Jumping up he found that he now had the little fur ball clamped firmly onto the end of his tail. He growled at her and she instantly let go. She tucked her tail and laid her ears back. Obviously feeling guilty Jackson reached down and licked her. His large tongue soaked the fur on the top of her head causing her to try and shake herself dry.

"Well...I guess you need a name."

Looking up at Daniel the puppy cock her head to the side and then proceeded to urinate on the carpet.

"Okay then, 'River' it is."

The newly named River started wagging so violently that her whole body was shaking. Jackson came over and pushed her out of the way to sniff at the new stain. Not about to be out done Jackson prepared to mark the spot as well.

"Don't even think about it!" Daniel barked. "You're in enough trouble as it is!"

Daniel hoisted River up off the ground and carried her into the kitchen to get some paper towels. He put a large number of the towels on the floor and placed a heavy artifact on top of them to soak up the urine. He took River to the backyard and let her snoop around under Jackson's watchful eye.

River was clumsy in the tall grass of Daniel's unmowed lawn. As he watched her he started to wonder if she was even old enough to be separated from her mother. He recalled the woman back on Jackson's homeworld saying something about it taking a full year to raise a Wulf. At the same time he wasn't sure if that counted for quarter Wulves as well.

Suddenly finding himself with a headache Daniel went back inside for some aspirin. When he came back he found that Jackson had carried River back inside and over to his food dish. She sniffed the dry kibble with disdain. When she spotted Daniel she raced over to him and whimpered pitifully.

"You're not even old enough to be off of milk are you?" Daniel sighed. "What you need is a mother..."

Daniel smiled as he finally stumbled across a useful thought. Ducking back into his room Daniel threw on a shirt and a pair of jeans. He gathered up River's blanket and scooped her up into it. Out of sight, out of mind Jackson started to head back off to bed.

"Oh no you don't, Mister. You're coming with us."

Jackson opened and closed his jaw in a way that made him look like Jack when he was mocking Daniel's rambling. However he went over to the front door and opened it for Daniel. Getting into his car Daniel drove across town. When they came to their destination Jackson jumped out of the car and rushed up to the door with his tail wagging violently.

With River bundled up in the blanket in his arms Daniel rang the door bell. An early riser Sam was fully dressed and ready for her day. Since they both had the day off she was a little surprised to find Daniel on her doorstep.

"Daniel?"

"Sam...you love dogs, right?"

"Why?" Sam asked suspiciously.

Daniel unwrapped the bundle he was carrying. River blinked a few times in the bright morning light. When she caught sight of Sam she started wriggling in excitement. Sam instinctively reached out and pick up the young Wulf. River began a desperate attempt to lick Sam's face.

"She's adorable." Sam beamed. "Her different coloured eyes are stunning."

"I thought you might think so."

"Where did you find her?"

"That's where things get...um...interesting."

Daniel looked down at Jackson who in turn attempted to look innocent. Sam furrowed her brow and looked down at Jackson as well. After looking at River and looking at Jackson a few times Sam gasped.

"No..."

"Yes."

"This is Jackson's?" Sam asked, still not believing it.

"Yeah."

"How is that even possible? I thought you had him neutered."

"I...uh...I actually had the vet do a vasectomy, at Jack's request."

"And it failed?"

"Not exactly." Daniel sighed. "You may recall Jackson's little trip in the sarcophagus a few months back?"

"It reversed it." Sam chuckled and then looked at Jackson. "And then you went out and found the first bit of tail you could get?"

Jackson wagged proudly.

"General O'Neill is never going to let either of you hear the end of this."

"Tell me about it."

Sam finally realized that they were standing on her front step and invited the pair inside. Jackson went and made himself at home on the rug near the couch. Sam put River down and she ran over to her father and started crawling all over him. Jackson pretended to ignore her, but when she settled down to sleep he curled up around her protectively.

"Jackson doesn't seem to mind being a father." Sam noted.

"A father isn't what she needs right now. I think she's too young to be away from her mother, but the woman who owns her mother is furious that this even happened, wants nothing to do with her. She probably would have brought her over the day she was born, but I was off world."

"Daniel...I don't know anything about raising puppies."

"Neither do I."

"You know if you brought her over here I wouldn't be able to say 'no', didn't you?" Sam shook her head sadly.

"So you'll take her?"

"I'm not going to take her, but I will help you guys."

"Thank you."

"Well, it's not like we can just drop her off at the local humane society."

Daniel chuckled, waking the lightly sleeping pup. She untangled herself from Jackson and came up and sat at Sam's feet. She whimpered pitifully until Sam picked her up. After a moment in Sam's arms she began crying again.

"She's probably starving." Sam noted sadly.

"I don't know what to do about that. I mean you certainly can't just give them cow milk...can you?"

"No." Sam smiled. "The pet store will be open in an hour, they have replacement formulas."

"Of course. I probably could have thought of that if I hadn't been woken at six this morning with a surprise addition to my odd little family."

River started squirming so Sam put her back down on the floor. She scampered a few feet away before tripping on her own oversized paws.

"Does she have a name yet?"

"River."

"That's a pretty name, but why Riv..."

Sam stopped as River started peeing on her floor.

"That's why."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Half way between dreaming and awake Sam furrowed her brow. Something wasn't right, something was out of place. It was harder to breath than normal. The room felt like it was warmer than it should be. Shaking off the last tendrils of sleep Sam opened her eyes. Lifting up the sheets she found River curled up on her chest sleeping peacefully.

"Oh, so now you show yourself." Sam teased.

River opened her mismatched eyes. She smiled up at Sam with her tiny pink tongue hanging out.

"That was quite the disappearing act last night."

Sam felt River's bushy tail wagging against her stomach. The pup was clearly proud of herself. Sam had gone with the boys and River to the pet store to get the hungry whelp something to eat. When they got home River sucked down two bottles of milk and then passed out in Sam's lap. In thanks for all her help Daniel had Chinese delivered for lunch.

While Daniel visited Jackson and River chased each other around the house. However when it came time for Danie to go home River was suddenly nowhere to be found. Even Jackson was at a loss as to where she had snuck off to. Eventually it started getting late and Daniel came to conclusion that River really wanted to spend the night. Sam had actually stared to worry when even after Daniel was gone River still was missing. However part of her knew the wayward pup was around somewhere.

River stretched out her tiny body and stood up so she could lick under Sam's jaw. Giggling Sam hoisted her up into the air. River tucked her tail and whimpered.

"Don't you dare pee on me."

Getting out of bed quickly Sam took River directly to a puppy pad that they had purchased at the store. She had barely put River down before she stained the absorbent pad. Sam wandered to the bathroom herself to step into the shower. It wasn't long before there was a set of padded paws pushing against the glass door.

"I don't think you want in here."

River whined pitifully.

"Alright, fine," Sam said as she slide the shower door open "but don't say I didn't warn you."

River bounded into the shower and instantly slipped on the soapy tile floor. Recovering her dignity somewhat she stood up and shook violently. She played around in the warm spray, attacking Sam's feet. When Sam got out of the shower she wrapped River up and towel and rubbed her dry causing all of her fur to stand on end.

"You look like a porcupine."

Placed back on the floor River raced out into the bedroom and violently started attacking a pillow that had fallen off the bed. Sam allowed her to play while she slipped into her base uniform. She reached down and pulled River away from her prey and took her into the kitchen. Placing the pup on the counter she warmed up some milk for her. She was just pouring it into a bottle when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sam, did you find River?"

"Yes, Daniel, she's right here."

Sensing she was being talked about River let out a high pitched bark.

"You two getting along?"

"This isn't my dog, Daniel."

"Yeah, well I feel the same way about Jackson." Daniel chuckled. "It really isn't up to us."

"You don't really think she'll be like Jackson do you? I mean she's only a quarter Wulf."

"I don't know...but I do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"Even if she is just a dog, you're not going to be able to give her up."

"Seriously, Daniel, I'm not sure I can keep her. I don't thi..."

"Who did you make breakfast for first?" Daniel interrupted. "Yourself or River?"

"Well, River, but that doesn't mea..."

"Did she sleep in your bed?"

"Well...yeah, but..."

"I rest my case."

Sam glared at the phone as Daniel hung up. Hanging up the phone herself Sam sighed and looked down at River who was still sitting on the counter. Now that she had Sam's full attention she started wriggling in excitement. Sam held her hand out and River rubbed her head against it.

"Damn it...I hate it when he's right."

Sam offered River the bottle of warm milk and she latched down onto it. At the rate she was eating she was going to grow into her large paws in no time. Sam had some toast herself and then packed a small bag with River's milk, an extra bottle, and a couple of the puppy pads. Not wanting to leave River home alone for the next ten hours she had no choice but to bring her to the SGC.

At the base River became an instant celebrity. It took Sam nearly an hour to get down to her lab. River didn't mind the attention one bit. She held her head high in the exact same way Jackson did when he was being lavished with attention. Her little tail was wagging so hard Sam worried that it might actually fall off.

By the time she made it into her lab River was exhausted. Sam put her down on her desk and she curled up into a small ball and instantly fell asleep. Sam had some last minute paper work to get done before the morning briefing. She had almost finished when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Jack and Teal'c stepped into the room. Jack had that grin on his face that he got when he was pleased that something was happening to someone else and not him.

"Well, we've come to see the new addition."

Sam pointed to where River was still sleeping. Jack stepped closer and furrowed his brow.

"You mean the paperweight?"

Hearing Jack's voice River woke. Getting up she trotted to the edge of the desk and stood up on her hind legs to beg to be picked up. Jack was more than happy to oblige. Once in Jack's hands she started straining forward to lick at his face. Chuckling Jack allowed her to do so. Teal'c looked at the puppy in curiosity, but made no move to touch her.

"It would appear that the SGC is proceeding towards the canines."

"It's...uh...'going to the dogs', Teal'c." Jack chuckled.

"He's absolutely right." Daniel added as he joined the group.

"Nothing wrong with that." Jack noted.

Seeing Daniel River went into full Ecstatic Puppy Mode. Having hard time keeping a hold of her Jack passed her off to Daniel. River seemed content with this arrangement and started chewing on Daniel's shirt collar.

"Where's Jackson?" Sam asked.

"At the vet getting fixed...again."

"Fixed?" Jack asked as he looked at River. "Doesn't look like he was broken to me."

"Ha-ha." Daniel said mirthlessly.

"Hey, at least I didn't say anything about it being hard to keep a good dog dow..."

"Sir!" Sam admonished.

"What?"

"There are young ears in the room."

"Very true." Jack smiled as he reached and rubbed between River's ears. "Speaking of which, I've got you two signed up for classes."

"Classes?" Sam asked.

"USAF service dog training, you two start as soon as she's three months old."

"Whoa, wait, I haven't even decided if I can keep her."

"Oh you're keeping her...that's an order."

"If she's anything like Jackson she'll chose her own partner." Sam pointed out.

Daniel smiled and put River down on the floor. Without hesitation River turned around and rushed over to Sam. She tugged at Sam's pant leg until she reached down and picked her up. River nuzzled against Sam's neck affectionately.

"I think she's already chosen."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Uh...Sam?"

"Daniel?"

"You know, if you ask, I'm sure the kitchen will gladly cook that for you."

Sitting in the mess Sam looked down at her breakfast, seeing nothing wrong with it. Daniel sat down across the table from her with his cup of coffee. Jackson sniffed at her plate until she pushed him away. Dejected Jackson laid down on the floor while Sam continued her meal.

"Sam, you're not..." Daniel paused "you're not pregnant are you?"

Sam almost choked on some orange juice that she had been trying to drink. She glared up at Daniel murderously. He flashed her a please-don't-kill-me smile.

"No." Sam said firmly. "What makes you think that?"

"It's eight o'clock in the morning, and you're eating a raw steak."

"Rare. With eggs...it's a breakfast food."

"Yeah, if you're a middle aged businessman living in 1956."

"Well I'm not pregnant, trust me."

"Just asking." Daniel put his hands up in surrender. "So, where's River?"

"She's rig..."

Sam stopped as she looked under the table and saw that River wasn't there. She looked up at Daniel in horror and then cringed as the PA system broadcasted a very annoyed General squawking her name. Jackson sat up to attention and put his ears down.

"Don't worry, Jackson," Sam smiled "you can't be blamed for everything she does."

"You automatically assume this is about River?" Daniel chuckled.

"Don't start with me."

Sam picked up the rest of her steak and tossed it to Jackson who instantly swallowed it without even a thought of chewing. Getting up from the table she rubbed at her lower back. Jackson whined in concern.

"Sam? You okay?"

"Just a little back pain."

"Back pain?"

"I'm not pregnant." Sam repeated.

"I didn't say anything."

"You thought it really hard."

Daniel chuckled. Sam forced a tight smile and made her way to Jack's office with Daniel and Jackson close on her heels. When they got there Jack looked up at them with an unreadable expression.

"Ah, Carter."

"Sir?"

Jack got up from his desk and walked around to the front. He leaned back against the desk and looked at his new guests as if expecting something. Sam glanced at Daniel, but he just shrugged.

"So...how are thing?" Jack asked conversationally.

"Uh...fine, Sir."

Jackson stepped out in front and started sniffing at Jack's feet which were currently only wearing socks.

"At least Jackson here has figured out what's wrong with this cozy little scene of ours."

"River..."

"That mutt of yours has some real stealth." Jack admitted. "I didn't even know she was in here until it was too late."

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"Don't be, it could come in handy." Jack reached down and pet Jackson. "However, since she seems a little bored I think it's time for her first official mission through the Gate."

"She's only six months old." Daniel protested.

"Relax, Daniel, I'm not sending her on anything death-defying. Carter I want you and River to accompany Daniel on his way to PX-whatever tomorrow."

"Jack, we've known the people on that planet for months. I'm just going to be sifting through their library. I don't need a babysitter "

"And I don't need to lose another pair of shoes. Now off you guys go."

Daniel rolled his eyes and left the office. Jackson gave Jack's feet one last sniffing and bounded off after his partner. Sam tried to simply follow him, but Jack stopped her.

"Carter?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"If there is anything left of my shoes I would like them back."

"That's not very likely."

"I was afraid of that."

When Sam made it down to her lab she found River happily munching on one of the black leather shoes. She looked up at Sam and wagged violently. She had grown a lot in the past few months. She was almost half of Jackson's size. Although she still had a lot of her puppy features that she had yet to out grow.

"Why did you have to steal both of them?" Sam asked plaintively.

River got up and went behind Sam's desk. She came back out holding the other shoe, which had remained unmolested. Trotting up to Sam she presented the gift to her. Sighing heavily Sam reached down and took the shoe from her. Clearly proud of herself River smiled.

"For me? You shouldn't have...no really, you shouldn't have."

Suddenly sensing that she was in trouble River laid her ears down. She stepped up to Sam and nuzzled up against her leg. Forced to smile Sam knelt down and ruffled the thick fur on the back of River's strong neck. She went to get back up again, but a dull ache in her ankles kept her down a little longer.

"So you're teaching her to steal the General's shoes I take it?"

Sam turned her head and looked up at Janet with a guilty expression. Getting back to her feet Sam winced slightly. River rushed over to Janet and rubbed against her lab coat. Smiling Janet reached down and pet between her ears.

"What brings you down here?" Sam asked.

"I just saw that you're name has been added to the mission list for tomorrow."

"Is that a problem?"

"I don't know, you tell me." Janet replied. "That's why I'm down here."

"I'm fine, it's just a little joint pain."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's getting worse."

"I think I'm just starting to feel my age, or rather my mileage." Sam smiled. "I'm just hanging out with Daniel on this one anyway."

"Yeah, well you know better than anyone how quickly that particular activity can become life threatening."

"Very true." Sam laughed. "I promise to take it easy."

"What I want you to promise me is that you'll let me do an MRI when you get back."

"Will it make you happy?"

"Ecstatic."

"Alright, I promise."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

NOTE from the PHOENIX: Janet was in the first story so I'm keeping her for this one too. I'm on vacation for the next ten days so I don't know if I'll have time for writing. We'll see. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Sam stood at the base of the Stargate ramp eating a bright green apple. River pranced a few paces back and forth at her side. When that didn't get Sam's attention she sat down and made her back as straight as possible as if trying to perfect her sitting posture. Sam glanced down at her and River whined quietly.

"River seems nervous." Daniel commented.

"No," Sam shook her head "she just wants my apple."

"What?"

"It's her favourite thing."

"I don't think I've ever heard of a dog that liked apples."

Jackson made a angry huffing noise.

"I don't think Jackson likes you calling his daughter a 'dog'." Sam chuckled.

During the conversation the Gate had been slowly dialing. River hadn't even noticed, she had her eyes glued to what was left of Sam's apple. Just as the Vortex snapped out at them Sam offered River the apple. The young Wulf-mutt sank her teeth into the juicy fruit. Chewing it quickly she swallowed it, core and all. Licking the last of the sticky juice off her jaws she wagged her tail happily.

"Ready?" Sam asked River.

River looked at the Event Horizon and tucked her tail. This was not her first trip through the Gate. Sam had carried her through Gate to safe worlds many times when she was younger to make sure that she was adjusted to the strange event.

However, River seemed to sense that this time was different. She looked to her father who was dressed in his light weight vest, there was no need for bullet proof armour this time around. River was wearing the same vest and a bright pink camo collar that Jack had given her. Jackson stepped up to River and nuzzled her neck before walking up the ramp with Daniel. River looked up at Sam.

"We're next." Sam smiled.

"Get your fuzzy butt in gear!" Jack's voice chuckled over the PA system.

River looked over her shoulder and then held her curly tail up higher to ensure that Jack got a good view of her rear.

"That's not very lady like." Jack scolded. "Who raised yo...oh, that's right. I guess you're not to blame."

"Can we go now?" Sam sighed.

River answered by taking a hesitant step forward. When Sam walked confidently up the ramp River gained more courage and picked up her pace. They stepped through the Wormhole together and took the icy trip. On the other side Jackson bounded up to River and licked her face. Daniel looked at Sam expectantly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You thought we'd switch, didn't you?"

"It had crossed my mind. After all Jackson and I switched during Gate travel."

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten it."

Daniel smiled ruefully and rubbed between Jackson's large ears. River sniffed the air and raised her hackles. Just as she did so Daniel's contact on the planet came into view. Sam ruffled River's fur to let her know that she had done well to alert her to the approach, but at the same time also letting her know that they weren't in any danger.

After introductions they all followed the man to the massive stone library. The civilization seemed to be Egyptian in decent, which had Daniel overly excited. These people had risen above the concept of Goa'uld as false gods on their own, and they had the entire revolution documented. They had been developing for centuries free from oppressive rule and had lifted themselves up as a culture of peace and art.

Daniel looked like he was home.

Jackson looked like he was ready to go back to the SGC.

After a few hours of lounging around, watching Daniel read ancient text, River came over and nudged Sam awake. Sam looked around and yawned. Every joint in her body was in some form of pain or simply stiff. She stood up and stretched out.

"Daniel?" Sam asked and then waited. "Daniel."

When Sam had to repeat Daniel's name for the third time Jackson got up and nosed his partner in the ribs.

"Huh?"

"River and I are going for a walk." Sam informed. "Jackson, make sure Daniel stays out of trouble."

Jackson whimpered.

"I know, it's a tough job."

Jackson wagged in agreement.

River was already heading for the library's ornate wooden doors. Sam gave Jackson one last pat on the head, and just for good measure she gave Daniel one too. He look up at her with a confused look. Sam chuckled and joined River.

Sam had her sidearm, but had left her P90 at the SGC. She couldn't imagine any threat on this planet that couldn't be handled by her trusty 9 mm. River was prancing as they made their way to a near by forest.

Jack had once wondered out loud why so few of the people they came across built their cities around the Stargate. He instantly regretted doing so as Daniel launched into about ten theories he had as to why cities tended to be close too, but not too to the Gate.

Sam was just glad that they didn't, it not only helped strategically, but it also gave River and her a nice place for a stroll. The forest had neatly groomed pathways that took the pair past small waterfalls, interesting plant life, and other natural wonders.

River's nose was on overdrive as she sniffed all over everything. She never strayed very far from Sam. Every few minutes she would halt her investigation to listen to her surroundings. Even in the excitement of a new world she was not letting her guard down.

Sam and River had been walking for an hour, but the circular nature of the paths meant that they hadn't gone too far from the city. They came to a pleasant glade with soft moss covering the ground. Sam stepped a few feet off the path. River started rolling around in the moss gleefully.

Stepping up to where River was enjoying herself Sam suddenly pitched forward. With a breathless cry she landed on her hands and knees. River leapt up with her ears perked up on high alert. Sam lowered herself to the ground slowly and rolled over onto her back. River whimpered and licked her face gently.

"River, River, I've hurt my leg. Go get Daniel, go get help."

River took a step away and then took another step closer to her partner. She whimpered again and nuzzled Sam desperately. Sam cried out again causing River to tuck her tail and pace back and forth.

"River, go get Daniel, go get help."

This time River gave Sam one last supportive lick and dashed off back down the path as quickly as her padded feet could take her. Once the Wulf was fully out of site Sam sat up with a sly smile. She looked around and found a large boulder off to her right. Getting up without trouble Sam walked over to the rock and sat down so that she could lean her back against it.

"I should have been an actress." Sam chuckled to herself as she pulled out her radio. "Daniel?"

"Did it work?" Daniel's voice came over the radio.

"Well, she left running. I assume she's on her way to you."

"Good girl."

"I think it might be wise if when you get here if you wrap my knee or something, just so she doesn't think we were tricking her."

"I can do that."

Sam put her radio away and prepared to wait. She stretched out her back and then yelped in genuine pain. Furrowing her brow Sam reached back and rubbed her lower back. Right at the base of her spine was a sore spot. Sam sighed heavily, feeling old. Feeling suddenly tired she laid down on the soft moss covered ground. She had not planed to fall asleep, however she did exactly that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Sam woke up slowly without opening her eyes. She could hear a beeping sound that, although familiar, seemed totally out of place. She explored the surface she was laying on with her fingertips. It was not the soft mossy ground she was expecting, it was the rough feel of cotton.

Despite the odd change in environment she didn't feel like she was in any danger. Opening her eyes she found herself staring up at the cement ceiling of the infirmary. Turning her head towards hushed voices she found Daniel and Jack whispering to one another while Teal'c stood silently off to one side. Jackson was sitting at Daniel's feet, or rather on them, looking for all the world like he was participating in the quiet conversation.

They all seemed tense and anxious. River was the only one who looked as though she didn't have a care in the world. She was also the first one to notice that Sam was awake. She wagged her tail and trotted up to Sam's bedside. Sam reached out and pet her.

"Good girl." Sam smiled.

River looked proud of herself and wagged harder.

"Carter?"

"Yes, Sir." Sam replied as she sat up. She looked at the IV embedded in her arm. "Taking this act a bit to the extreme aren't we?"

"Teal'c go get Dr. Frasier." Jack ordered.

Teal'c, nodded and bowed out of the room.

"Sir?" Sam asked. "What's going on?"

"We don't know yet."

"I don't understand."

"Sam," Daniel stepped up to her "when River brought me to you, you were sound asleep and I couldn't get you to wake."

"You've been sleeping here almost twenty-four hours." Jack added.

"I feel fine, really."

"How's your back?"

"Sore." Sam admitted.

Jack glanced at Daniel anxiously and went to say something more, however he seemed to decide against it. Sam's skin was starting to prickle and chill, there was something the General wasn't telling her. His eyes had that glassy redness that one gets from holding back tears. Sam was just about to demand some answers when Janet came in with Teal'c.

"Good morning, Colonel." Janet greeted cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

"I'd feel a lot better if someone told me what was going on."

"I don't have a solid answer for that yet." Janet forced a smile. "However, I can say with ninety-nine percent certainty that it is not osteosarcoma."

Jack and Daniel both made noises of obvious relief. Sam gave them a puzzled look and then returned her attention to Janet. The small doctor did not look as relieved by the news as the others.

"Osteosarcoma?" Sam repeated. "You thought I had bone cancer?"

"I've ruled that out." Janet said quickly. "Whatever this is, it's not malignant."

"Whatever this is? What is going on? What are you talking about?"

"Sam," Janet said softly "your joint pain isn't being caused by simple wear and tear. You have some form of progressive bone disease."

Sam didn't know how to react to this news. She just started at Janet for a moment, thinking that she was going to chuckle and reveal that this was just a joke. However, Janet's worried expression did not change. Sam looked down at River, who still had her head on the bed, and ruffled the fur on the back of her neck. She sighed quietly and accepted the news.

"Where do we go from here?" Sam asked calmly.

"I'd like to get another MRI, before we were concentrating on the biopsy."

Sam nodded.

"Do you feel strong enough to walk to the MRI yourself?"

"I don't feel sick, Janet. If you hadn't told me something was wrong, I'd never know."

"That's good, it means we've caught this early and if we can just figure out what it is we can work on fixing it."

"Then let's get to it." Jack said impatiently.

Sam smiled and shook her head. Janet reached over and pulled out the IV since Sam couldn't go through the MRI with it anyway. When Sam went to stand Jack was instantly there to help her. She accept the offer only because she knew it would make him feel better. With her feet on the floor she took a few steps towards the door, but then stopped when she noticed everyone was staring at her.

"What?"

"Sam," Janet said "why are you walking like that?"

"Like what?"

"Up on your tip toes."

Furrowing her brow in confusion Sam looked down. Sure enough she was up on the balls of her feet. She hadn't even noticed. She took a few steps, trying to put her heels down. However her ankles were simply locked in this position.

"I can't put my heels down."

Janet came over and gently pushed River out of the way so that she could get a better look at Sam's feet. She lifted up one foot and found that Sam had perfect balance on the other even though Jack was there to catch her if she started to fall. Janet tried to bend Sam's foot back into a normal position causing her to yelp.

"I'm sorry." Janet apologized. "Does it hurt to walk."

"No."

"Then let's get to the MRI."

"River, stay here."

River whimpered plaintively, but to no avail. Still up on her tip toes Sam made her way to the MRI machine. Several hours and a countless scans later Janet was no closer to an answer. Her closest guess at the moment was Paget's disease, a progressive bone disorder that caused joint pain and bone deformation over time. However the speed at which everything was happening did not lend itself towards Paget's.

It was now the very early hours of the morning and Sam was back in the infirmary. Laying on her stomach she absently stroked River's fur. The Wulf-mutt had crawled up into her bed at some point in the night. It was comforting having her near by. Even though Sam didn't want to admit it, the prospect of having a crippling disease terrified her.

Sam had wanted to go home after a full day of testing. However, Jack had made it an order that she stay at the Base due to Janet's recommendation. Daniel and Jackson had stayed on Base as well and were sleeping in a VIP room downstairs. Drifting in and out of sleep Sam noticed that Jack kept coming into the infirmary to check on her.

Everything in the infirmary was dark and quiet. Half asleep Sam could feel River's tail brushing against her. Suddenly struck by the call of nature Sam debated just ignoring the need and trying to fall back asleep. After a few minutes she realized that she was just going to have to bite the bullet and get up.

Pushing River off the bed first Sam put her feet on the floor. She didn't bother to check if she was still up on her toes, she didn't really care at the moment. Her steps were silent across the cement floor as she made her way over to the small bathroom.

Sam flicked on the lights and blinked a few times against the harsh light. River was right behind her, she could feel the mutt brushing against the back of her legs. Annoyed she reached back to push her away, but she wouldn't leave. Turning around Sam's jaw dropped in shock when she saw that River had actually already crawled back into bed.

"Janet!" Sam cried in panic.

"Sam?" Janet asked as she bustled into the room. "What's wro…Oh my God…"

"I'm fairly certain that _**this**_ isn't a symptom of Paget's!"

Janet was at a loss for words and was just staring. Jack had gone off to get a cup of coffee, upon returning to the infirmary he dropped the cup of hot liquid and it shattered nosily on the floor. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes before looking at Sam again.

"Whoa, Carter…nice…uh…nice tail."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"**RIVER**!!"

Knowing that she was clearly in trouble, but completely unsure as to why River slunk off the infirmary bed with her tail tucked between her legs. Instead of going over to her wrathful partner she hid under the bed. Sam's silver and white tail was puffed out like a bottle brush in anger. Having been called to the infirmary by Jack Daniel and Jackson stepped into the room.

"Jack what is going o...Sam?" Daniel gawked at Sam in disbelief.

Although Jackson had padded into the room still half asleep he was wide awake now. With his ears perked he stepped up to Sam. Stretching his neck forward he went to sniff under her tail..

"Don't even _think_ about it!" Sam snarled as she rapped Jackson over the head with her new tail.

"Wow, you have voluntary motor control of it." Janet commented.

"Barely." Sam huffed as the furry appendage swished back and forth in agitation. "Daniel, do something!"

"Me?" Daniel asked shocked.

"You are the Wulf expert Daniel." Jack pointed out.

"Alaria never told me anything about this!"

"Alaria?"

"Jackson's 'mother'." Daniel clarified.

River finally came out from under the bed and approached Sam with her tail wagging hesitantly. Sam bared her teeth at her, displaying a new set of long pointed canines. When River flattened her ears and whimpered Sam's expression softened. She knelt down awkwardly, unaccustomed to the new positions of her joints. River rushed up and nuzzled against her chest.

"I'm sorry, River." Sam sighed. "I'm sure you're not doing this on purpose."

"Even if it isn't on purpose, I don't think there is much question that River is the cause." Janet said. "Perhaps we should separate you two for a while, see if this reverses or at least doesn't progress."

"No." Sam shook her head. "If our connection is anything like Daniel and Jackson's, River might die."

"Sam's right." Daniel agreed. "We can't fix this on our own, we need Alaria's help."

"I thought you two weren't exactly welcome back there?" Jack pointed out.

"We're not, in fact I don't think Jackson should come. The Wulf pack will tear him apart on sight."

"Then you can't go either." Sam pointed out.

"Jackson can handle a few hours without me, but River is probably going to have to come with us."

"I'll wake Teal'c and we'll get out of here." Jack said.

"I think Sam, River and I should go alone." Daniel countered. "A smaller group will be less threatening, if we get into aggressions with the pack we are not likely to get Alaria's help. The rest of the inhabitants made it very clear to me that they never wanted to see Jackson, or anyone who would lower themselves to partner with him again. We don't want to go in looking like we want a fight."

"Daniel," Jack growled "this is sounding dangerous. I'm not sending you two off alone on this."

"Ja..."

"I don't want to hear it."

"At least promise me you shoot any of the Wulves."

"I can't make that promise." Jack said seriously.

"We're never going to get anywhere with violence."

"For crying out loud Daniel, I'm not planing on wading in there guns blazing, I'm just saying that we're not going there without the means to defend ourselves."

"Daniel, the General is right." Sam interjected before Daniel could argue further.

"Thank you, Carter."

Sam's tail wagged on its own accord causing her to uncharacteristically blush.

"You'll never win another game of Poker as long as you've got that thing." Jack chuckled.

"Come on, Sam." Janet put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "I'll help you get into uniform, we're probably going to have to make some modifications."

Sam followed Janet's gaze down to her own feet. She was no longer merely up on her tip toes now, the bones in her feet had actually lengthened, while the ones in her calves had started to shrink. She scratched at her forearm nervously and noticed that a very fine amount of silver fur was starting to grow in.

Jackson did not take well to being left behind. While Janet was cutting slits into Sam's uniform to help her get it over her mutating joints she could hear Daniel and Jackson having a heated argument. River was staying right at Sam's hip and was trembling slightly as they stood on the ramp waiting for the Gate to dial.

"It's all right River, just stay close to me."

Even though the Wulf-mutt had already been pressed against her River leaned in even harder. Teal'c, Daniel, and Jack were all standing at the bottom of the ramp waiting. Daniel asked Jack one more time to try not to kill anything. Jack informed Daniel that at the moment Daniel himself was in the most danger of receiving a bullet wound.

When the wormhole opened the three men stepped through without hesitation. When Sam stepped forward River whimpered and hung back. Looking over her shoulder she could see how terrified River was to be going through the Gate without her father. Sam smiled reassuringly and when that didn't work she wagged. This got a better reaction out of River and she bounded up the ramp.

Sam wasn't used to stepping onto a new world barefoot, however there was no way she could get any shoes on. The Wulves' home world was a heavily forested one, with moss clinging to the stone dais that held the Stargate. In the distance a lone howl rang out.

"I think they know we're here." Jack muttered darkly. "Teal'c keep a sharp eye out."

Flattening her ears River pressed herself once again against Sam's leg. Taking one hand off her weapon Sam reached down and gave River a reassuring pat. Jack and Teal'c were looking around for any signs of a threat when a large pure white Wulf came trotting down the path. River seemed to instinctively know that this creature meant trouble and began shaking.

"Teal'c..."

"Easy, Jack. She's not showing any signs of attacking." Daniel said.

The white Wulf padded up to Daniel and sat down in front of him. She looked at the rest of the group and when her eyes fell on Sam her long toothy jaw dropped open in shock. Getting up again she looked from River to Sam and back again before shaking her head sadly. She went back to Daniel and growled at him.

"I'm sorry." Daniel apologized. "I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear."

"Daniel, you do realize how ridiculous you sound talking to a dog?"

The white Wulf snarled.

"Jack!" Daniel admonished. "This isn't the Wulf, this is her partner Alaria."

Alaria nodded.

"Please, Alaria, we need your help."

Alaria cocked her head to the side as though considering her options. As she thought another Wulf, this one with a deep ebony coat, came running up the path. Alaria leapt to her feet and barked sharply causing the new comer to skid to a halt. The black Wulf stared at Sam and began yapping and whining. Alaria bared her teeth at him and he ran back the way he had come.

"Daniel..." Jack said nervously.

Alaria stepped up to Sam and sniffed at her. River dared to bare her teeth at the Wulf, but Alaria acted as though she hadn't noticed. Nodding her head once Alaria started walking slowly up the overgrown path towards the hidden village.

"Do we follow her?" Jack asked.

"If she wanted us dead she would have called for the pack."

They followed in behind the Wulf. Her coat was so white that when the sunlight struck it she seemed to give off a glow. River and Jackson were both beautiful animals, yet they simply couldn't compare to the majesty of the full Wulves. As they came to the village Wulves and their partners stood aside and watched them, all of the human eyes grew wide when the fell upon Sam.

"Why do I get the feeling they've never come across this particular problem before?" Jack whispered to Sam.

"Because we haven't." Alaria replied, now back in her own form.

Now standing at her partner's side Tanria the white Wulf looked up at Sam and growled with her fur bristling.

"Tanria!" Alaria snapped.

The Wulf sat down with a 'huff' sound. Although she no longer displayed aggression, it was clear that she was unhappy.

"Where is my son?"

"Jackson stayed on Earth, I was afraid he wouldn't be welcome here."

"You are correct." Alaria looked down on River. "This must be his daughter."

"River." Sam supplied.

"River...I like that." Alaria smiled sadly and then turned back to Daniel. "Daniel, my child, I though you of all people would have known better."

"It was an accident."

"You should have raised River yourself."

"Wouldn't this have just happened to him?" Jack asked bluntly.

"I meant he should have taken Jackson's body and raised River. Don't you remember me telling you that I had to spend a year in Tanria's body to raise Jackson? Didn't it occur to you that there was a reason for that?"

"Honestly, I had forgotten."

"Wulf pups are very dangerous creatures, they live in a world between animal and human. They must be taught which is which. They must be taught that they are Wulves and therefore they must be raised by Wulves. River does not understand why her 'mother' does not look like her, so instead of giving her a piece of her Soul, as in a normal transfer, she has instead given her a piece of her Spirit. Wulves can not be handled by humans until they are a year old."

"Well, it's a little late for that now." Jack grumbled.

"It is not too late." Alaria replied calmly. "However, if something is not done soon Samantha will turn into a complete bitch."

Jack opened his mouth to take that comment and run with it, but there were so many places to go with such a statement that he couldn't decide which direction to pick.

"Please, Alaria, help Sam, she was only trying to help when she took River in."

Before Alaria could respond a man with the black Wulf at his side stepped up to her. Daniel knew this man to be Borin, and his Wulf: Malis. Just as Alaria and Tanria were the Alpha females, this pair were the Alpha males. Although powerful he was still subordinate to his mate. He whispered something urgently in her ear.

"You think I don't know that!" Alaria snarled in sudden anger. "This creature is of my blood and I will decide what is best."

Borin and his Wulf looked like there were preparing to attack. However they both bowed to her and took up a post a few feet behind her.

"Uh...is there a problem here?" Jack asked nervously.

"Yes." Alaria admitted. "Samantha and River may stay, I will help them. However, the rest of you must leave."

"Not a chance."

"Jack..."

"Daniel." Jack interrupted.

"The pack is already growing resentful of a quarter blood being among them." Alaria continued. "I can protect Samantha and River during their time here. However, I can not care for you all and if something should happen and blood is spilt on either side I will lose my position as Alpha. Tanria and I will be slaughtered and the rest of you would be next. I am taking a great risk as it is."

"How long will it take?" Sam asked.

"I am unsure, a month at the least, perhaps a year." Alaria replied.

"Forget it." Jack snapped. "We are not leaving Carter here alone."

"I would think that decision would be up to the one who is slowly becoming an animal." Alaria said coldly. "Samantha and River will need to learn how to untangle their spirits, it will not be an easy task, it will require all of their concentration and attention. Having you here is more than a danger, it would be a distraction."

"There has to be another way." Jack insisted.

"There is."

"Perfect, what's option B?"

"Kill River."

"What?!" Sam exclaimed in alarm.

"It will not reverse the changes you have already gone through, but it will halt the process."

"What happens if you can't reverse this anyway? What happens if Carter changes completely?"

"Then we will return her to you and she will have to live out the rest of her life as a Wulf."

"What about River?" Sam asked.

"She would still be your partner, just in a different sense."

"Has anyone successfully changed back once this has started?" Daniel asked.

"Not in my lifetime, however, we know better than to raise Wulves ourselves. I do not offer success, I only offer a chance."

"I think we'd be better off ending things here." Jack growled.

"Sir!"

"Carter, are you really willing to risk your humanity for this dog?"

Sam hesitated to answer. She looked to Daniel for guidance, knowing he was the only one who was even capable of understanding. However, his eyes held no wisdom for her. Still pressed against her side River was shaking violently. Sam wasn't sure how much of what was going on the young Wulf-mutt understood, but she did know that she was terrified. She looked down at River who looked up at her with her mismatched eyes. Staring at River Sam ran the tip of her tongue over her new long teeth.

"Carter?"

"I'm staying."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"I agree with you one hundred percent." Jack said matter-of-factly. "Trust me, I'm on your side on this. You are not only preaching to the choir, you're also barking up the wrong tree... literally."

After barking at Jack Jackson whirled on Daniel and bared his teeth at him. When Daniel stepped towards him he snapped viciously at the air. Every hair on his sleek body was raised and bristling.

"Jackson, it wasn't my decision." Daniel tried to explain.

This answer did not make Jackson feel any better. Ever since he discovered that the team had returned without Sam or his daughter he'd be uncontrollable. He had bolted into the Gateroom and now he wouldn't leave.

"Jackson, please..."

Changing from unbridled aggression to gut wrenching terror Jackson ran back and forth through the empty Gate. When he realize he wasn't getting anywhere he tucked his tail between his legs and howled. His amber eyes pleaded with Daniel once more, but nothing changed. Jackson sat down and dropped his head in defeat.

Daniel took this opportunity to approach his miserable partner. He sat down on the ramp next to him and put his arm over his canine shoulders. Jackson put his head against Daniel's chest and whimpered pitifully. Daniel sighed and ruffled Jackson's fur.

"Sam and River are going to be fine." Daniel assured. "They are safe."

"She had better be." Jack growled darkly.

"Ja...Jack?" Daniel looked up in surprise.

"Daniel, I swear if Carter comes back with a new fur coat, or worse if she doesn't return at all...I will _never_ forgive you."

"You're blaming me for this?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact I am."

"What about Jackson?" Daniel snarled angrily. "Do you blame him too?"

"Of course not, he's just a dog!"

"That's what this is really about...isn't it?" Daniel hissed. "You're angry that Sam has seemingly chosen River over us. You just don't get it, do you Jack? River and Jackson are more than just dogs, they're family..."

"Carter is family!" Jack spat. "More than that she is a solider and because of some mutt I've been forced to leave her behind."

"Then why didn't you just order her to kill River?!"

Jack took a breath to argue further, but he had nothing to say. Jackson looked back and forth between the arguing friends. Getting up he nudged Jack's hand and whined softly. Jack looked down at the Wulff-mutt and saw that his golden eyes were bright with tears that his species was not meant to shed.

"Because...because she never would have forgiven me." Jack admitted grudgingly.

"So you do understand after all."

Jack sat down on the ramp next to Daniel and sighed heavily before leaning his shoulder against Daniel's. Daniel accepted the silent apology, knowing it was the best he was going to get. Jackson seemed calmer as well and sat down in front of the men.

"Sam and River can take care of themselves, and each other."

"I just can't shake the feeling, Daniel."

"What feeling?"

"That we've thrown Carter to the wolves."

"Wulves."

"I wasn't talking about the dogs..."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Sam watched the rest of the team step through the Stargate to go home. River stepped forward to join them, but Sam reached down and took her pink camo collar to stop her. Looking up at her changing partner River tilted her head to the side in a questioning look. 

"We're going to be staying here for while, River."

River whimpered.

"I'm sure Jackson misses you too."

Alaria came up to Sam and smiled sadly. She looked down on River. The Wulf-mutt was not comfortable with the woman. She tucked her tail and pulled her ears back. 

"She's not going to hurt us." Sam assured. 

"I am pleased to see that you speak to your partner as though she was human not canine."

"Truth be told I even talk to my plants like this."

"Plants?"

"I don't expect them to understand me, but I talk to them anyway."

"I see." Alaria replied, although clearly she did not. "Come, I wish to show you some of our world before we begin."

Sam really wasn't interested in the Wulves' world, sight seeing was really more Daniel's specialty. However, she didn't want to offend the only woman who could stop her from transforming into a Wulf. So she agreed to the tour. They walked through the wet forest. The giant trees and moss covered stones reminded her of the Pacific Northwest.

"This is my favourite spot." Alaria said suddenly.

"It is beautiful." Sam replied honestly. 

"Samantha…" Alaria paused. "Samantha, if River's hold on you proves to be too strong, would you consider…staying."

"Staying?"

"Yes, there will be no place for you in your world, but here…here you can live as a free member of our Pack."

"I'm kinda hoping it doesn't come to that."

"But if it does?"

"I don't know, what about River? I know the other Wulves don't like her."

"They will be taught to accept her so that you may stay."

Sam furrowed her brow, it seemed strange to her that they would be willing to invite her into the fold. Having made her offer Alaria seemed content to let the subject drop. She looked around the glade that she had brought them to with a serine look on her face. 

Scratching absent mindedly at her arm Sam noticed that something was not quite right. Inspecting her forearm Sam found it covered in a fine layer of silver and tawny fur. River nudged her side and wagged her tail hesitantly. Sam forced a smile.

"Um…Alaria, I really do appreciate you showing me the forest…but…um…"

"Yes, of course, I will take you to my home so that we may begin."

"Thank you."

As they made their way back to the village Sam noticed that it was getting increasingly difficult to walk upright. As her legs reformed she found herself leaning further and further forward. Fighting the change she forced herself to put her shoulders back even though it threw her off balance.

Alaria's home had been carved directly into the trunk of an immense tree. Not all the homes were made with this unusual construction, however Alaria was the Alpha. Sam was taken by the beauty of the home, it was breathtaking. In the center of the circular room was a wooden spiral staircase that had clearly been carved from the tree. The steps showed the rings of growth on their polished surface. 

"Come upstairs, both of you."

River followed Sam and Alaria up the spiral stairs. On the way up Sam had to resist the urge to do so on all fours. The stairs lead to another circular room that was lined in plush pillows. Small windows had been chiseled out of the walls and looked out over the village on one side of the tree and out onto the forest on the other. 

"For the first step I want you two to try and dream together."

"Dream?"

"Yes, it is something I am sure Daniel and Jackson do all of the time. Even if he is not aware of it."

"Not to sound like I'm complaining, but wouldn't dreaming together only strengthen our connection and make me change faster?"

"It will strengthen your bond, but we are hoping to make River understand why you do not wish to be a part of her world in this way."

"I see." Sam replied dubiously. "So…how do we do this?"

"Lay down together, settle yourself, try and relax to the point where you can hear her thoughts and emotions."

"Is that possible?"

"You doubt it?" Alaria smiled. "Look at your hands."

Sam looked down at her hands and noticed that they were beginning to change as well. Seeing how fast she was physical changing she felt a little sheepish about asking if a mental connection was possible. River nudged her again and looked up concerned.

Sam ruffled River's fur, causing the Wulf to wiggle all over. Resigning herself to her fate Sam went over to one of a large plush pillow laden beds. River jumped up next to her and settled down. Alaria excused herself and went back down stairs. 

Feeling rather silly Sam closed her eyes and tried to relax. After an hour she was still wide awake and no closer to dreaming with River than before. Deciding on a different approach Sam concentrated on River's slow steady breathing. Eventually she was able to match the rhythm herself, and without even realizing it she slipped into sleep. 

Sam felt out of place, she felt like she didn't belong. Something was missing that she couldn't pinpoint. It was something that she'd never had, but part of her knew she needed it, without even knowing what it was. Suddenly someone had their warm hands around her, lifting her up off the ground. 

Her vision in this dream world was not sharp, but she didn't need her vision. Her heart was suddenly whole, it raced with the excitement. She didn't know who had their hands around her, but she never wanted them to let her go. Sam closed her eyes and sent her feelings out, hoping that the creature that held her would experience even half of the joy that she felt. She wanted to share everything with her. Suddenly part of her realize that this was not what the other wan…

_"Carter?"_

"Sir?" Sam asked in sleepy confusion as she jerked away.

_"Carter?"_ Jack's scratchy voice repeated.

Sam looked around the tree house, not understanding where the voice was coming from. When her radio squawked her name again she finally figured it out. Picking up the radio she shook her head.

"Sir?"

_"Carter, what the hell took you so long?"_

"I was sleeping."

_"You're supposed to be working on not turning into a dog."_

"Sir, I've only been here a few hours. Alaria already said it could take months." Sam replied. "I really need to concentrate on this, Sir."

_"Are you saying that I'm distracting you?"_

_"That is exactly what she's saying, Jack."_ Daniel's voice broke in._ "Sam, don't worry, I'll keep a better eye on Jack. I'll keep him at bay."_

"Thanks, Daniel."

_"When should we contact you again?"_ Daniel asked.

"I don't know. I…I think I was actually getting somewhere. How about giving me a few weeks."

_"What if that crazy Wulf bitch turns on you?"_ Jack demanded.

"Tanria and the rest of the pack has been ordered to stay away from River and I."

_"I wasn't talking about the dog."_

"Jack…" Daniel admonished.

_"What? I don't trust this!"_

"Jack, if Alaria wanted to hurt them, she would have by now." Daniel noted.

"Daniel's right, Sir. River, and I are fine."

It took a few more minutes to convince Jack to give Sam a full two weeks before contacting her again. Alone again Sam tried to put herself back into the state of mind that she had been in before the interruption. Sam didn't quite remember the dream she had, something made her feel that it had been important. However she simply couldn't remember it and she couldn't seem to relax again. 

Sam went to scratch behind her ear and jumped in fright, pulling her hand away. She reached back up gingerly and felt out the large, fuzzy canine ears that adorned the sides of her head. Without even meaning to she put them down the same way River did when she was in trouble. River pawed at her, picking up on her distressed body language.

"I don't suppose I could just ask you to not do this to me?"

River cocked her head to the side, clearly not understanding.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

It was nearing midnight at the SGC but Jack was wide awake. He had taken to staying at the Base rather than going home. He had told Daniel it was due to a large amount of paper work he had to do, it just seemed easier to stay. Daniel clearly didn't believe the excuse, however, he did accept it.

Jack's story wasn't all smoke and mirrors. There was indeed a large amount of paper work to be done. It was currently gathering strength on his desk. Leaning against the briefing room table Jack stared sightlessly at the inactive Gate. Sighing heavily he pushed himself away from the table and headed into his office.

After nearly an hour's worth of going over reports Jack was about ready to call it quits and find a nice VIP room to curl up in for the night. He had just pushed away the file he'd been working on when there was a hesitant knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Daniel stepped into the room. He looked around the room and when he caught sight of Jack he forced a smile.

"Since when do you knock?"

Daniel shrugged.

"So...what do you want?"

Daniel shifted his weight uncomfortably. Jack furrowed his brow as he watched the young man fidget nervously.

"Daniel?"

"Sam...Rever..."

"What about the..." Jack stopped. "Wait a minute...Jackson?"

Jackson nodded sheepishly.

"Does Daniel know you're running around the Base in his body?"

The sentence had been too complicated for Jackson. Looking even less sure of himself he took a step back. Jack smiled and shook his head sadly.

"Jackson, where is Daniel?"

"Sleeep."

"Go back to him."

Jackson hesitated and then shook his head.

"Jacks..."

"Sam...Rever." Jackson repeated. "Halp, ple'ase."

"They're fine, Jackson. They don't need our help."

Jackson thought about this for a moment. Eventually he shook his head and stepped closer to Jack.

"J'ack, halp, ple'ase."

"I don't know how to explain it to you." Jack admitted. "Sam and River are safe."

"No find. I no find."

"They aren't on the Base, Jackson."

Jackson knit Daniel's brow together. He clearly felt like he wasn't getting his point across. Jack was just about to call someone to find Daniel when Jackson stepped up to his desk and got down on his knees so that he could be eye level with the seated human. Jack has his hand on his phone, but he froze at the intense look of fear on Jackson's face.

"Alaria?" Jackson asked.

"Yes." Jack nodded. "They are with Alaria."

Jackson's eyes widened in horror. He jumped back to his feet and started pacing frantically. He used Daniel's human voice to try and whimper in his usual canine manner. It was disconcerting to see 'Daniel' acting this way.

"Jackson, they are safe."

"No!" Jackson barked. "Borin no sa'f!"

"Borin? I don't know what that means."

"Borin...Borin..." Jackson stuttered.

Jackson searched for the right word. In his frustration he barked sharply a few times. If the situation hadn't been so serious the sight of 'Daniel' barking would have made Jack smile.

"Borin...cruel!" Jackson spat. "No trust! No trust!"

"Calm down, Jackson."

Becoming increasingly agitated Jackson raked his hands through his hair. He got to the point where he was too upset to try and use his newly found language skills and was reduced to a breathless whimpering. Jack got up from his desk and reached out to try and ease the Wulf's fear.

When touched Jackson threw himself unexpectedly into Jack's arms. After regaining his balance Jack peacefully allowed Jackson to cry on his shoulder. Jackson gripped the front of Jack's shirt desperately as he shook with tears. Not knowing what else to do Jack rubbed between the miserable creature's shoulder blades. Jackson suddenly pulled away from Jack with a confused look on his face.

"What is going on?"

"Daniel?"

"Yeah."

Jack looked down and noticed that Jackson was now back in his own body, laying on the floor, still looking miserable. Jack hadn't even noticed Daniel padding into the office. Jack bent down and ruffled the fur behind Jackson's ears. Jackson let out a low, keen, whine.

"Jackson's worried about Carter and River."

"Jackson," Daniel admonished "I told you there were safe. You know better than to running around in my body."

Jackson nodded slightly.

"Daniel, did you tell him where they are?"

"No, I was afraid that if he did understand that it would just make him more upset. He's been frantic for days now. I just told him that they were away."

"Well he figured out where they went."

"What?" Daniel asked shocked. "How do you know?"

"He told me."

"You're kidding."

"No, it was...spooky. We practically had a full conversation."

"That's amazing. What did he say?"

"Mostly that he wants me to help them."

Daniel sighed sadly. He knelt down next to his partner and ran his hand over his fur. Jackson seemed to have slipped into a depressive state and did not react to Daniel's touch. Daniel forced a sad smile.

"Jackson, trust us. Sam and River are fine, I'll make sure you get to talk to them in a week when we contact them. Everything is going to be all right."

Even though Daniel was saying to word he was finding them harder and harder to believe. He had come up with a similar excuse that Jack had to stay on Base. However, both men knew they were hanging around in case of an emergency. Daniel stood back up to face Jack.

"Daniel, do you know what 'borin' means? Or rather what word Jackson was trying to come up with?"

"Borin?"

"Yeah, he said 'Borin cruel, no trust'."

"Borin isn't a word, it's a name. The Alpha male is named Borin."

"Jackson doesn't like him."

"Of course not, Borin always hated Jackson for being a mutt."

Jackson got back to his feet and tucked his tail.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this." Jack grumbled.

"You've had a bad feeling about this since we first left."

"Yeah, but now I've got animal instinct to back up my suspicions."

"Jack, don't be absurd. Of course Jackson is going to be upset, he doesn't understand."

"I think he understands more about this than any of us."

Daniel pinched at the bridge of his nose in frustration. It was hard enough dealing with Jackson's anxieties. Jack pushed past Daniel and started to head out of his office.

"Jack, don't."

"It's been a week Daniel, what's the worst that could happen in contacting her?"

"The worst? You could break her concentration and ruin her one chance of being human again."

Jack glared at Daniel for a moment, but he knew that he was right. Daniel muttered something about going back to bed. However when he went to leave Jackson decided to stay in Jack's office. Looking somewhat hurt Daniel shook his head and left.

When Jack went back over to his chair to sit down Jackson came over laid his head down in Jack's lap. Jack stroked the Wulf's strong neck and smiled. Jackson was not impressed, he nudged at Jack with his pointed muzzle.

"I'm sorry, but you should know better than anyone that your partner is normally right about this sort of thing."

Jackson growled.

"You're right I don't believe that." Jack admitted. "Just between you and me, Jackson, I'd rather have her back as a dog than not at all."

Jackson poked Jack in the ribs once more to try and get him to go to the Gateroom.

"No, as much as I hate to say it, we have to wait."

Jackson whined.

"Why? Because deep down I think Carter would rather come back human or not at all."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Twitching in her sleep Sam ran full speed through a field of wildflowers. The colours around her were oddly muted and dull. However the world was alive with brilliant sounds and mixture of fascinating scents. What she lacked in vision she made up for in other keen sense.

Coming to a stop at the edge of a murky forest a soft sound caught her attention through the cacophony of singing birds and rustling leaves. It was almost as though she could hear some hidden creature's heartbeat. Stepping into the trees she abandoned the auditory input and concentrated only on the thick musky scent that rolled over her.

It was like a trail had been blazed through the dark forest just for her to follow. Coming closer to the source her eyes caught the outline of a doe peacefully sipping from a small stream. Hoping to catch the deer unaware she crawled in closer on her belly before bunching up her muscles and launching at it.

The doe had one ear on her surroundings and took to the air just as Sam did. She easily cleared the stream and dug her hooves into the mud on the far bank. Charging through the shallow water Sam took off after her.

The hunt was on and the thrill of the chase gave her a speed that until now she had never dreamed of. Taking the path with the most obstacles the doe leapt over the fallen trees with the grace of a bird in flight. Although forced to go under most of the objects in her path Sam was still gaining on her quarry.

Breathing hard Sam pushed her pace to its limit. The terrified doe darted through the trees blindly. Taking a wrong turn the deer found herself out of the forest and back into the flat plain of wildflowers. With nothing in her way to slow her down Sam was able to close the gap between them.

Using instinct to time herself Sam broke stride to leap into the air. Teeth connected with warm flesh and the pair tumbled to the ground in a tangle of hooves and paws. Readjusting her attack Sam latched down on the young doe's throat bringing a gush of steaming crimson blood.

Startled awake by the violent dream Sam spit out the feather pillow that she had destroyed. She sat up groggily, picking a feather out from between her sharp teeth. Sighing heavily she looked over at River. The Wulf-mutt had just woken as well and was smacking her lips.

"I hate to break this to you, River, but in the real world you'd never out run a healthy deer, let alone be able to bring it down by yourself."

River looked up at Sam and wagged.

"Which I suppose is why it's a 'dream'." Sam sighed.

Looking down at the back of her hands Sam's heart and stomach clenched painfully. Her transformation was not reversing, if anything it was progressing faster than before. Turning her hand over Sam inspected the way her fingertip were widening and growing a dark black pad. Alaria insisted that she spend most of her time trying to connect with River, but if something didn't change soon she wasn't even going to be able to walk up right anymore.

"River, I don't know what else to do. I can dream with you, but you don't listen to anything I have to say. You keep trying to show me why I should want this, but I don't. Honestly. You have some amazing abilities, but I don't belong in your world."

River got up and nuzzled against Sam's chest.

"Yes, yes, I know you love me. I love you too, if I didn't I would have let the General shoot you. Why can't you just love me how I am, or rather how I was?"

Sam thought about what she was saying and instantly felt ridiculous. It was clear that River simply didn't have the intelligence to understand any of this. Sam tried to pull her knees up to her chest for a bit of psychological comfort, however the joints were now so canine that she couldn't manage it. Laying back down Sam stared sightlessly at the blizzard of feathers surrounding her. She could feel her eyes stinging with tears, but before she broken down she sat back up and shook her head.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Carter, and do something about it."

Getting out of bed was tricky, particularly with the smooth hardwood floor of the tree house. She set her foot down, noticing that it was far more paw-like than when she'd gone to bed. It was increasingly difficult to keep her balance on two legs, but she was determined to fight to keep her balance despite the fact that her new instincts wanted her to get down on all fours. Once on her feet Sam looked around the room critically.

"Okay…let's take this problem back to basics. What do I have, what do I need?"

River jumped down off the bed and trotted over to a silver dish full of fresh meat that Alaria must have placed there. While River took care of breakfast Sam continued to try and logically solve out her problem.

"Well…I have a tail, and I need a shave." Sam sighed in defeat.

Sam looked down and noticed that River had brought one of the pieces of raw meat over to her. River placed it on the floor and looked up at Sam expectantly. Sam hated the way the metallic scent of the blood actually made her stomach rumble rather than turn.

"I'm not hungry." Sam lied.

River gave Sam a few seconds to change her mind and then wulfed down the rest of the meal. After a few minutes of debating with herself Sam took the treacherous journey down stairs. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to navigate the stairs and this morning she found that she had to sit down several times to keep from falling off the spiral staircase since there was no rail.

Downstairs Sam found Alaria sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the small stone fireplace. She seemed to just be staring into the flickering flames. When Sam made it to the bottom step she looked over her shoulder at Sam and River and just rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the fire.

"Alaria?"

The woman looked back over her shoulder and bared her dull teeth at Sam.

"Oh…Tanria." Sam corrected uneasily. "Um…good morning. I don't suppose I could talk to Alaria?"

Tanria got to her human feet and stared at Sam coldly. Her eyes slide down to where River was cowering at Sam's side. She bared her teeth again, this time adding a low growl. River tucked her tail and pressed up harder against Sam's leg, almost causing her to lose her balance.

"Easy, River, she's not going to hurt us."

Clearly disgusted with the pair Tanria sat back down to stare at the fire. Realizing that Alaria wasn't in the house Sam stepped outside. It was early morning, just after dawn. The little town nestled in to the forest had a low laying blanket of white mist hovering just above the ground. Everything was extremely quiet, which was odd, usually at least one of the Wulves were howling or the birds were singing. With her new ears had come a sharper hearing, and the lack of sound made her unease.

River didn't look any more comfortable. The normally out going Wulf was practically stuck to Sam's side. Her tail was pressed against her belly and her ears were down. She kept looking up at Sam for reassurance. However, feeling uneasy herself she found she couldn't lie to River.

The sound of a twig snapping behind them caused both River and Sam to whip around. Borin, the alpha male, was standing behind them with his black Wulf at his side. Even though he smiled his look was not a friendly one.

"Good morning to you both." Borin greeted. "May I assist you?"

"No, we're fine." Sam replied quickly. "Although if you can tell Alaria that River and I have gone back to the Stargate I would appreciate it."

"The Stargate?"

"Yes."

"What for?"

"We're going to go home." Sam said simply.

"Why?"

"As much as I appreciate everything Alaria's tried to do for us, it isn't work, and being on this planet just seems to be making me change faster. I have some things I need to say to my friends while I'm still able to speak."

Borin did not respond to her explanation. The black Wulf looked at River and licked his muzzle. Sam didn't like the look in the Wulf's bright eyes and casually slid her hand onto her sidearm. Borin still didn't seem to have anything to say.

"I…uh…I'll contact Alaria in a few days, maybe I'll come back once I have my affairs in order."

"You must stay."

"What?"

"I can not allow you to leave."

"'Allow'?" Sam repeated as if she'd found the word insulting.

"You are one of us now."

"Even if I end up on all fours that doesn't make me 'one of you'."

"Return to Alpha Alaria's home, now." Borin ordered calmly.

Sam took a step back as she unlatched the strap that kept her sidearm in place. She didn't want to draw the weapon just yet and cause an incident. However she wanted to be ready to defend herself if Borin truly wasn't going to let her leave. Borin did not react to her backing away so she took a few more steps.

There was a sudden change in Borin's eyes, very similar to the one that took place in Daniel's when he took Jackson's form. The black Wulf now stepped forward with human intelligence and intention in his yellow eyes. When a dozen gray Wulves stepped out of the mist to joint their Alpha male Sam finally pulled out her weapon.

An almost human smile slipped across Borin's lupine features when Sam tried to aim the weapon at him. She wasn't sure if he had known that the new pads on her fingertips would prevent her from getting to the trigger or if he had simply never feared the gun in the first place. Either way Sam was without a defense.

"Alaria!" Sam cried.

The snow white Wulf had been standing behind her. Alaria padded up to Borin and he respectfully bowed his head. He gave a low growl that Alaria seemed to understand. She tilted her head back and howled. Becoming increasingly nervous Sam took a few more steps away from the gathering pack.

Tanria had heard her partner's call and came out of the house to join them. Alaria switched places with the Wulf. The look of disgust on Alaria's human face changed to one of sorrow as she took her proper place. She took a step towards Sam and River, causing them to take a step back.

"Saman…"

"Alaria, I want to go home." Sam interrupted.

"As Borin said, we can not allow that." Alaria whispered.

"You want to hold me prisoner?"

"No, I do not wish that."

"However," Borin growled having taken his human form once again "we will if you insist on attempting to return to your former world."

"There is nothing 'former' about Earth." Sam snapped angrily. "You don't even want mutts in your society, why are you trying to keep us here?"

"River is nothing more than a dog now," Alaria replied "what little Wulf she had in her she has given to you. You will be pure."

"You were never trying to help me." Sam accused as she bared her sharp teeth at the Wulves.

"No."

Sam didn't wait for any further explanation she dropped the gun, knowing it was worthless. She turned around to bolt, however it was too late. The entire pack, both human and Wulf, had now gathered and had silently surround her. There were too many of them to fight and she could barely walk at this point let alone run.

"River, run!"

River looked around at the pack and whimpered.

"It is unfair of you to ask River to abandon you now." Alaria said. "She will not lea…"

"River! Find Daniel!"

This time River didn't hesitate to follow the direct order even though it was impossible. She spun around and dashed off into the forest. A few of the Wulves went to chase her, however they stopped as Alaria held up her hand.

"She will return." Alaria assured the pack. "She can not hunt on her own and she will crave to be with her partner."

"Alpha is right." Borin smiled. "It is this one we must worry about."

Sam's new instinct caused her to bare her teeth at the approaching Wulves and their partners. With her balance compromised by her increasingly ill equipped bipedal legs she quickly began to lose the fight that ensued. Several of the men ended up with bloody noses and one other was knocked to the ground completely. However in the end they pinned her arms behind her back.

Although she managed to twist out of several men's grasps there was always another to take his place. When Borin came up with a murderous look in his eyes she momentarily stopped struggling. With terrifying strength Borin ripped open her shirt and pulled it off her shoulders. The man holding her released her long enough to tear the rest of the shirt away from her before capturing her again.

"No!" Sam cried as Borin took a hold of her waistband. "Let me go!"

"Borin! Stop!" Alaria barked. "What are you doing?"

"Her clothing is only going to become more restrictive, best to remove it now in case it injures her."

"It does not have to be done here in front of the whole pack."

Borin gave Alaria a shallow bow of respect. As he backed away from Sam he winked at her in a way that chilled her blood. Before Sam could try and get a final kick at the guy Alaria made a motion for the two strong men holding Sam to follow her. Borin changed places with his black Wulf and came along as well.

They traveled to the far side of the forest village to a large cave. The walls were covered in a brightly glowing fungus that added to the natural light from the entrance. The small back chamber of the cave had been sectioned off by a set of metal bars with a gate. They had laid out several fine deer pelts to cover the stone floor, but it did not make the cell any more inviting.

Once she was on the wrong side of the bars she turned an injured expression on Alaria. After a moment's hesitation the Alpha ordered the men to leave. Borin sat down and stared at her with his toothy jaw held open in a wide grin.

"Borin, leave us."

Looking insulted Borin bristled his fur. However he knew better than to cross the Alpha female and got back to his padded feet. Sam watched him leave, fearing that he might decide to hunt River down. She had told the Wulf-mutt to leave for her own protection, but she was regretting that decision now. Clearly unhappy with the violent turn of events Alaria stepped up to the locked bars with a heavy sigh.

"Please, Samantha, I must ask that you remove what is left of your clothing. Borin is correct, they could lead to injury."

"Alaria…I trusted you." Sam said in a desperate attempt to win the Alpha's sympathy.

Alaria looked as though she was going to cry. She bowed her head slightly so that Sam could no longer see her tear brightened eyes. Sam reached through the bars and placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. Alaria looked up at her with guilt painted on her face.

"Please, Alaria, why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you are beautiful, strong, intelligent…and your children will have all of those qualities."

"What?"

"You are everything we want in our Wulf pack's bloodline."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Come on, Jackson, you have to eat something."

Jackson looked up at Daniel briefly before laying his head back down on the floor. Daniel sat down next to the pouting Wulf-mutt. He stroked Jackson's fur to try and comfort him. Jackson whimpered pitifully.

"I got you a top of the line steak, cooked just how you like it: raw."

Getting to his four feet Jackson got up and went over to the silver bowl. Daniel was hopeful that his partner was finally going to eat something. However, Jackson made it clear that he was going to continue his hunger strike by pushing the bowl away with his nose. Jackson came back over to Daniel and flopped down on the floor next to him.

"You are just as stubborn as Jack sometimes, you know that?" Daniel growled. "I don't know why you two both seem to think this is my fault. Do you think I enjoy any of this? Do you two think I'm not worried sick? More than that, do you think I don't realize that everyone is going to blame me if something does go wrong? And now you're going to starve yourself to death because Sam made her own decision to stay?"

Still sitting on the floor Daniel leaned against the cabinets of his kitchen. He closed his eyes and tried to fight the mounting stress. Jackson got up and licked under Daniel's jaw apologetically. In no mood for a shallow apologies Daniel pushed the Wulf away.

Jackson turned his head to the side and studied he partner for a moment. Going back over to the food dish that he had pushed away he ate the gourmet meal with gusto. Licking his lips he nuzzled against Daniel's chest. This time Daniel ruffled the fur between Jackson's ears.

"Thank you."

Daniel found himself suddenly pinned to the floor by a hundred and fifty pounds of excited Wulf-mutt. Jackson licked Daniel's face until he was helpless with mirth. Still chuckling Daniel pushed Jackson away affectionately.

"Okay, okay, enough!" Daniel laughed.

Undeterred Jackson persisted in his saliva attack.

"That's it!" Daniel said in mock ire. "Let's see how you like it."

Daniel switched placed with his partner and licked up the side of his face. Jackson cried out in a combination of shock and laughter. He retaliated by starting a full wrestling match. Daniel finally broke up the fight by sitting back and wagging his tail. Jackson reached up to his human face and ruefully rubbed the wet saliva.

"I didn't think you'd appreciate that." Daniel smiled as he returned to his own body.

Jackson dropped down in to a play bow.

"Not now, we're going to be late getting to the Base as it is."

Upon hearing the word 'Base' Jackson raced for the door. Daniel had taken the tug off the front door to keep Jackson from going on anymore escapades, just in case he ended up back in a sarcophagus somewhere along the way. Daniel wasn't quite ready to rush out the door, but Jackson stood guard while his partner got ready.

Back on Base everything seemed to be running as though nothing was wrong and no one was missing. Daniel knew that he had a large pile of translation work from SG-7's last trip to comb through, but at the moment he wasn't in the mood for it. When he got into the elevator he had a moment's worth of indecision on which floor to go to.

Jackson seized the opportunity to jump up and hit the button that would take them to the Stargate level. Daniel rolled his eyes, but allowed the elevator to take him further away from his office. He figured it wouldn't hurt to check in on Jack anyway.

When he stepped off the elevator the sounds of the Gate dialing caught his attention. Jackson has noticed as well and had perked up his ears. He looked to Daniel and hesitantly wagged his tail.

"Sam has three more days before we contact her."

Jackson lowered his tail in disappointment. Suddenly worried that Jack may be just as eager to dial the Wulf world Daniel picked up his pace. Jack was in the control room with the regular round of technicians watching the Gate slowly dial.

"You're not dialing Alaria's world, are you?"

Daniel failed to notice the way his words caught Jackson's attention.

"Good morning to you to, Daniel." Jack huffed.

"Just checking."

"The show must go on." Jack shrugged.

Daniel glanced over at the computer and read the dialing sequence. It was not one he was familiar with. Not really knowing what to say Daniel simply joined Jack in watching the Gate. As the wormhole opened there was suddenly some commotion down in the Gateroom.

"What is going on down ther…" Jack grumbled over the intercom.

"Jackson!" Daniel cried. "Stop!"

Jackson had slunk away from Daniel while he was watching the Gate and had run down the stairs into the Gateroom. Seconds after the event horizon had established he'd launched through it. Daniel raced down the spiral staircase after his wayward partner.

"Close the iris!" Jack ordered.

Jack followed Daniel down into the Gateroom. Daniel skidded to a halt at the bottom of the ramp when the iris snapped shut. He turned on Jack with a horrified expression.

"Jack! Open the iris, I have to go get him!"

"Daniel, that's a new Address, we have no idea where it goes. We haven't even checked the atmosphere, you could be dead the second you step through."

Daniel looked over at the MALP that was standing at the ready to explore the new world. Growling in frustration Daniel stepped off the ramp, he knew this was an argument that he was not going to win. When it was clear that Daniel wasn't going to dash through the Gate Jack gave the orders to open the iris and send the MALP through. Jack stepped up beside Daniel as they watched the machine disappear.

"Why did Jackson do that?" Jack asked.

"Because he heard me asking you if you were dialing Alaria's world."

"But I told you that I wasn't."

"Not directly."

"Sir," the intercom squawked "the atmosphere on the other side has 90 less oxygen…"

"Jack…"

"We'd better be quick."

Daniel ran up the ramp and took a deep breath before hitting the event horizon. The thin air on the far side of the Gate was ice cold and burned at his skin. Jack appeared at his side seconds later and from his expression he was no more prepared for the freezing temperature either.

Jackson had barely made it off the Gate dais before collapsing. He was laying on his side gasping for breath in the vapor like atmosphere. Daniel collected him in his arms as Jack dialed back to the Base. The effort it took to lift the Wulf forced Daniel into taking a breath. The inhospitable air lanced into his lungs, but offered little relief from his oxygen deprivation. His thoughts were so clouded that Jack had to come over and pull him out of the way of the snapping vortex.

Staggering through the Gate they found that a medical team was already waiting for them. Jackson had to have an oxygen mask placed awkwardly over his muzzle. Jack and Daniel both insisted that they'd be fine after a few deep breaths of the Base's air.

Jackson started whimpering and fighting against the medical staff. Still panting for breath Daniel sat down next to him and smoothed out his fur to calm him. After five minutes of pure oxygen Jackson was able to get to his feet once more. He tucked his tail and lowered his head in submission.

"It's okay, Jackson, I'm not angry." Daniel assured. "Just, please, don't do that again."

"Jackson," Jack said as he knelt down next to the Wulf "you are one crazy mutt."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm starting to think that we should contact Sam."

"No, we need to give her the time we said we would."

"Why is it that we never have the same opinion about anything at the same time?"

"I have no idea."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Jackson knows…ask him."

"He doesn't seem to agree with whatever logic you came up with."

"I'm not sure I totally agree with it either, but it was Carter's choice and we need to respect that."

"Now there's something I never thought I'd hear you say."

"Well, I also came to the conclusion that if I do mess up Carter's one chance of being human she'd come back with some fairly sharp teeth…"

"And there wouldn't be a jury in the world that would convict her for using them."

"Exactly. Well, with perhaps the exception of Animal Control."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Sam laid on the soft deer skins in as close to a fetal position as she could manage. She could no longer stand on two legs, but she hadn't yet progressed to the point where she could stand on all fours either. Her shoulders and hips ached terribly as they reconstructed and repositioned themselves. She wasn't cold, but she shivered anyway.

The thick fur coat that now covered most of her skin did not keep Sam from feeling exposed. When she had refused to relinquish her clothing Borin had been called back and he had taken them from her by force. It had not escaped Sam's attention that even though Alaria had given the orders she had turned her back while she was being stripped.

Sam tail tucked between her legs at the memory. She could no longer physically cross her arms over her increasingly canine chest. She had long since given up on trying to pick up one of the deer skins to wrap herself in. Her once useful opposable thumbs had been reduced to dew claws.

The two gray Wulves standing guard outside of her cell suddenly got to their feet. They wagged their tails as Alaria stepped up to greet them. Sam glanced up at the Alpha and then resumed her sightless staring at nothing. Alaria sent the Wulves to the front of the cave and knelt down in front of the bars. She went to reach through to stroke Sam's fur, but thought better of it.

"I truly am sorry that it came to this." Alaria said quietly. "Please do not fear though. Things will be different once you are a full Wulf, your instincts will change, you will come to realize that this world is the only place you belong."

When Sam didn't reply Alaria got back to her feet and turned to leave. Sam struggled to prop herself up on her awkward forepaws. Hearing Sam move Alaria stopped and turned back around to face her. The women stared at each other in silence. Sam eventually found her voice, but could only manage a whisper.

"What is it like?"

"What is what like?"

"Being raped by an animal."

Alaria stared at Sam in horror. The colour drained from her face and then rushed back as she became flushed.

"I only ask because I hope it will help me prepare myself for it." Sam continued calmly. "Is the humiliation worse than the physical pain?"

Alaria took a step away from the bars. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but she could not find the words to reply. Alaria's light green eyes brightened with unshed tears. She looked like she was about to leave, but she stayed glued to the spot.

"How many time do I have to suffer through it? If I give you a single pup will you let me go…or will you breed me until I physically can't take anymore?"

Alaria remained silent, locked in her own thoughts. Sam was beginning to tremble from a combination of fear and the effort it was taking to bear weight on her still shifting wrist joints. Ignoring the pain Sam stared up at Alaria with tears slipping from her own aqua eyes.

"It won't be the first time I've been victim to the Sins of the Wolf." Sam admitted quietly.

"'Si...Sins of the Wolf'?"

"I was sixteen, he was twenty. At the time I felt special that an older man was interested in me…until I discovered why. I didn't tell anyone, I should have, but I didn't because I thought it was my fault. There is something about that particular secret that gnaws at you from the inside. It changes you. Decades passed before I met someone that I could trust enough to tell, a young Air Force doctor. I still go to her about it sometimes."

"Saman…"

"She was one of the people I wanted to say good-by to, thank her for everything she's done for me. Being able to tell someone eases the pain…but soon I won't even have a voice."

"Our…our…" Alaria stuttered "our Wulves have voices..."

"I am not one of your Wulves."

Alaria was starting to shake now. Sam thought for a moment that the Alpha was going to cry. However the Wulf leader took a deep breath and collected herself. Her eyes hardened to the look of a leader once more. Sam bowed her head and freely allowed her own tears to slip down her slowly developing muzzle, fearing she had lost.

"You will not be taken by force. I promise you that." Alaria insisted in a steady voice. "You will choose your own mate, with your intelligence you certainly over throw Tanria as Alpha. As Alpha no male will dare touch you without your permission."

"And if I never give it? What then?!" Sam snarled in sudden anger. "Do you honestly think Borin will allow my 'genetics' to go to waste? Do you think for even a second that he doesn't already have plans to be the father himself?"

"Never!" Alaria cried in shock. "We never take our Wulf partner's form to engage in mating!"

"Then I guess I must have misunderstood the pleasure he took in tearing my clothing away from me. I must have misread the way you turned your back so you wouldn't have to watch. I'm probably imagining the tears in your eyes right now."

Alaria lost some of her composure once again. She shifted her weight uneasily as she searched for a way to explain. Sam lowered her ears, making her look even more miserable and afraid.

"Please, Alaria," Sam whispered desperately "from one woman to another, don't do this to me."

"I have no choice." Alaria whimpered. "Everything is going to be okay, I swear, your instincts will change, you belong here."

"If you truly believed that you would have let me go home, you would have let me say good-bye to my friends, you would have let me come back on my own."

Sam's words were like a slap in the face to Alaria. She took a step back and looked around the cave as if she was afraid that someone was suddenly listening to their conversation. Sam used the bars of her cage to force herself up off the deer hides so that her gaze was level with Alaria's. Alaria stood transfixed by Sam's eyes. They no longer held any white, the blue had expanded out to the rounding edges of her eyes, giving them a more animal look.

"Alaria, please, let me go." Sam begged. "I want to go home."

"You are home."

Before Sam could reply Alaria turned on her heels and rushed towards the cave's entrance. Sam's paws slipped on the metal bars and she found herself down on all fours. She tried several times to get up again, but it was impossible.

"Alaria! Alaria! Ala…Aloooo…"

Sam's voice caught in her throat and when she found it again all she could manage was a heartfelt wail that transformed into the mournful howl of a true Wulf.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Sam woke violently to something damp being pressed against her face. She took a breath to cry out for help, but just ended up breathing in a thick odor that reminded her of almonds. Thrown into a panic she snapped blindly at the cloth as she scrambled to her feet. 

With her heart racing Sam backed herself up against the wall of the cave. The effects of whatever she had inhaled began to take affect. The floor under her paws felt like it was swaying. Her cloudy mind didn't even register concern over the fact that she now had true paws. She shook her head to try and clear it, but it only made the dizziness worse. 

As she fell back to the floor a deep chuckle raised the fur on her back. Sam fought against the encroaching darkness until her heart was beating so slow she thought it would stop. What frightened her the most was the thought that it might actually be better if it did. 

Sam's second waking wasn't nearly as jarring as the first. Groggy from the drugs she forced herself to her feet and fell to the deer skins several times before regaining her balance. Her throat felt dry and she found it oddly difficult to swallow. In the dim phosphorescent light of the cave she looked down and found that her transformation was complete.

All she could really see were the white paws where her hands had once been. She did not know that brilliant white traveled all the way up her legs, on to her chest and under her stomach. Silver fur accent in a tawny blonde covered her sides while a darker saddle stretched across her back. Her sky blue eyes looked out of a distinctly Wulf face that held striking markings in all the colours that covered her body. 

"You are beautiful."

Sam snapped her head up at the sound of Borin's voice. She went to bare her teeth at him and finally came to enough to notice that he had tied a strip of red silk between her teeth, around her muzzle and then back behind her ears. She could still expose her canines despite the muzzle by curling her lip. She accompanied her aggressive display with a deep growl even though she couldn't snap at him.

_"Back off."_ Sam snarled even though she knew she couldn't be understood.

"I have every confidence that your bite is far worse than your bark. Hence the precautions."

Undeterred by the muzzle Sam threw herself at the bars that separated them. Borin chuckled again and reached down to rub between his black Wulf's compact ears. Sam pawed at the gag desperately, but it was tied far too tightly for her to remove herself. Desperate she threw her head back and tried to howl. With her jaws clamped shut she couldn't produce much of a sound. 

"No one who could hear you would help you anyway." Borin jeered. "You forget that I have almost as much power as Alaria over the pack."

Borin reached into the cell and grabbed a fist full of the fur around Sam's neck. Using the purchase he dragged her closer, pressing her against the bars. Borin's breath reeked of blood from his tendency to eat with the pack on fresh kills. Sam struggled to free herself, but the man was far too strong.

"Alaria thinks she has the right to make you off limits, but I have news for you both…" Borin lowered his voice to a dangerous growl "you're not Alpha yet, and as the strongest male I have the _responsibility_ to ensure my Wulf breeds with the best!"

Finally able to writhe free of Borin's grasp Sam reached through the bars and scratched at his face with her sharp nails. Roaring in pain Borin backed away with his hand pressed against a bleeding gash in his cheek. He quickly composed himself and looked at the blood on his hand with a bright smile.

"You only prove my point further. You have an aggression in you that Alaria doesn't see, something she's been trying to breed out of us for years. Our whelps are going to be something special."

_"Look, I'm not even in 'heat' so why don't you two just come back later…"_

Sam didn't know why she was wasting her breath trying to talk, she was already starting to suck for breath against the tight muzzle. When Borin opened the cell door to step inside she tried to use the opportunity to escape, fearing it might be her only chance. The large black Wulf calmly stood in the way keeping her inside. Sam backed into the far corner as Borin approached her.

"You will never be Alpha, I will make sure of that."

_"I don't want to be Alpha!"_ Sam cried silently.

"We can't have you having the right to choose. You will carry pups for every worthy male in this pack and our next generation will be all the stronger for it. If Alaria can't see that then her time as top bitch is over."

Borin pulled off his thick leather belt with clear intent to wrap it around Sam's neck. Without anywhere to run and no means to fight back Sam was once again in Borin's rough hands. He looped the belt through its buckle and slipped the resulting noose around her neck. 

Sam tried to dig her nails into the floor to keep from being dragged out of the cave, but the hard slippery surface offered her no purchase. Every step she fought only tightened the belt around her throat and drained more of her energy. Even so she struggled like a fish on the end of a line as they traveled far out into the midnight forest.

She couldn't figure out why he hadn't just locked his partner in the cell with her and let 'nature' take its course, but she had some theories. Borin stopped suddenly and tied the free end of the belt to a young tree. He looked around the moonlit woods. Sam suddenly noticed a new scent leaking from his skin, without knowing why she realized that it was fear. Sam whimpered in hopes that he was changing his mind.

"This is something I can not be caught doing, but something makes me doubt you're going to tell." Borin suddenly smiled. "I have to admit, I've always wanted to try this."

When Borin's eyes lost their focus and the black Wulf took on a more human air Sam's heart faltered. Looking confused the Wulf in Borin's body simply sat down on the ground and stared at them. Sam threw her head back and forth to try and free the leash from the tree.

Licking his canine lips Borin padded up behind his seemingly hapless victim. Sam ceased her senseless struggling and looked backed over her haunches. Waiting for the right moment Sam lashed out at Borin with her powerful back leg. Caught under the jaw by the blow Borin cried out and reeled back. 

Sam glared at him defiantly, daring him to come close again. Borin switched back into his human body and smiled brightly. The Wulf pawed at his sore jaw and stared up at his partner accusingly. Borin didn't seem to notice he just got to his feet and carefully walked up to the tree he had tethered Sam to.

"You're right, it isn't very sporting of me." Borin untied the belt from the tree before knocking Sam down and yanking it off her neck. "I've always enjoyed the chase anyway."

Sam was slow getting to her feet so Borin lashed out and struck her across the hindquarters with the leather strap. Yelping in pain she dug her nails into the soft forest floor and took off running. She didn't dare look back, Borin would be back in his Wulf form and running after her. 

She knew what he was doing and hated him for it, but that didn't stop her from running. Sam was well aware that he was just trying to push her to exhaustion so that she wouldn't be able to fight back as effectively. Sam wanted to turn and fight him now, but that simply wasn't an option. 

Sam ran knowing that she only had two hopes for escaping Borin's 'affections'. The first was simply to get back to Alaria. She would certainly stop this. However every time Sam tried to turn back towards the village Borin cut her off with his superior speed and forced her in a different direction. 

The only other option was the Stargate: to either activate it herself or somehow keep one step a head of Borin until morning. Jack could be counted on to contact her first thing tomorrow, it was the morning they had agreed on. When she didn't answer her radio help would be immediately on the way. She had actually hoped that Borin would wait one more night so that all of this could be avoided, but clearly he had wanted this from the first day.

As Sam ran head long through the forest she began to see a major flaw in both plans. Fear, struggle, and drugging had already sapped her of most of her strength. Borin on the other hand was running on a set of fresh paws. He was also far more used to his form. Sam on the other hand found herself tripping frequently. If it wasn't for her sheer forward momentum she would have fallen on her face several times already.

Her inability to pant through the binding silk was also working against her. She was not going to make it till dawn, she'd have to come up with a better plan. Pushing herself to the limit Sam sprinted ahead and risked a glance over her shoulder. Borin was momentarily out of sight so she decided to risk everything in a very un-canine like move.

Launching herself at the nearest tree Sam scrambled up into the branches. It quickly became clear why dogs weren't usually found in trees. However she managed to get up into the leafy canopy. Unable to stop sucking for air she simply weld her eyes shut and prayed that her simple trick would work.

Not expecting his quarry to take to the trees Borin ran right past her. Sam waited a few more seconds before crawling down. Now that she had stopped running the strain of it caught up with her. She only made it a few steps before collapsing. The ground was so invitingly cool against her overheated body that she found herself unwilling to move. She started to wonder if it was even worth it to keep running to avoid a few minutes of unpleasantness.

_"Get up, Carter, Get up."_ Sam snarled to herself. "You swore you'd never let this happen again. Now get up!"

Sam bit down on the silk between her teeth and forced herself back to her feet. Disoriented she simply started lopping in the direction that she had come. She feared that Borin wouldn't be fooled for long and as soon as she felt her heart could take it she was running again. She was trying to get back to the village, however she found herself at the Stargate by accident. 

_"Worth a try."_

Sam reared up and put her forepaws on the globe in the center of the DHD. She searched for the first Symbol that would start the Gate dialing home. It took her a moment to find it, when she did she tried pressing it with her paw. The Symbol did not react to her touch, she tried with both paws, but it wasn't a matter of pressure. The DHD simply did not respond to a non-human touch.

_"Damn it."_

Before Sam could decide what her next move was she caught the sound of a snapping twig behind her. Whipping around Sam curled up her lip as best she could with the muzzle on. River dropped to the ground and let out a keen whine of submission. Sam's heart jumped and so did her body. She landed in front of her partner with her tail wagging of its own accord.

_"River, River!"_

River threw herself at Sam knocking them both to the ground. Whining and whimpering River licked Sam's face in excitement. Relieved to have her partner back Sam hugged River awkwardly with her paws. She didn't let the moment last too long before pulling away.

"River, get this off me!"

Sam's plea was nothing more than muffled barking and whimpering. River stood up shaking violently with her tail tucked firmly against her belly. Sam tried to encourage River to help her by rubbing her tethered muzzle against her. Coming to an understanding River sunk her teeth into the cloth and shook as hard as she could. 

Still only six months old one of River's last remaining milk teeth tore free as she tried to get the muzzle off. River backed away, blood dripping from her mouth. She cried out in fear and frustration. She was about to try again when the sound of Borin approaching caught Sam's ears. 

_"Never mind, just run!"_

Sam was taken by surprise when River latched down on the muzzle again instead of running. When Borin ran into them at full speed River held her grip and the strained silk finally snapped. Sam opened her jaws wide so that she could sink her teeth into Borin's exposed shoulder. 

Squealing in unexpected pain Borin reared back. Sam ended up with a mouth full of Borin's dark fur as he twisted himself free. They both got back to their feet quickly and faced one another. Snarling and snapping at the air the pair circled one another with their hackles bristling. Using instincts that she didn't even know she had developed Sam went into a full aggressive defensive posture. With her ears back and her hindquarters crouched down she made it clear that she was more than prepared to fight if pressed. 

Sam had been hoping that the display alone was going to be enough to make Borin think twice about attacking, she wasn't confidant in her ability to best him in a fight. However her actions were directly threatening his position as Alpha and any rational thought that he might have possessed was over taken by more primal instincts. Sam could hear River whimpering, unsure of what to do.

_"River! Get out of here!"_

Borin suddenly reared up and Sam met the challenge by doing the same. Clashing together up on their hind legs they tried to reach the other's throat while protecting their own. With no clear winner they fell back to their four paws. Sam darted forward in a snap attack and managed to take a chunk out of Borin's muzzle. The cut was superficial and she realized that if she didn't win soon her own body was going to give out on her. 

When Sam went for Borin's throat again he responded by swinging his heavy head. He struck Sam across the temple. Knocked senseless she landed hard on the mossy ground. She tried to get back to her feet, but her adrenaline was failing her. After pushing herself up on her forelegs she collapsed again.

Borin stepped in to claim his prize, however River jumped into his path. Although only half grown and weighing nearly a hundred pounds less than her opponent River took her place over Sam and barred her teeth at the Alpha male.

Borin paused at the sight and yapped in lupine laughter. Sam had run out of fight and she knew River stood no chance against the full grown Wulf. If he attacked her, he would kill her. The only way River was going to survive the night was if Borin had other things on his mind.

Using the last of her strength Sam struggled to her feet once more and pushed River aside. She stepped up to Borin with her head bowed in submission. Blood and drool dripped from her jaws forming a puddle at his feet as she panted for breath. He leaned forward and licked her muzzle. When Sam made no aggressive move he growled in triumph. River barked and pranced back and forth anxiously.

_"River, please, leave. Go to Alaria."_ Sam tried to beg.

River was glued to her place by indecision. It wasn't until Borin took a step towards River that she turned and ran. Satisfied the large Wulf returned his attention to Sam. Riding on a rush that can only be felt when intoxicated on power Borin forced her to the ground.

Sam closed her eyes and peacefully allowed her exhaustion to take her. She had no way of knowing how long she'd lost consciousness, however, it was obvious that Borin was not interested in a lifeless target. He had bit down on the scruff of her neck and slowly increased the pressure until she'd woken. 

Even though she was struggling weakly Borin tightened his grip until his teeth sank through her skin. Sam howled in pain as her hot blood rolled off her fur. Satisfied that he had her attention he released her. Feeling his weight on her back Sam couldn't keep herself from whimpering repetitively.

Closing her eyes Sam was just ready for the ordeal to be over with. However Borin had suddenly frozen in mid mount. Confused Sam opened her eyes and looked up. Alaria stood before here in Tanria's form. Her fur was so white that it had a silver sheen in the moonlight. 

Alaria's lip was curled and twisted into an expression of pure rage. Borin slid off Sam's back and began trying to plea his case in a high pitched yapping. Sam felt someone laying down at her side and looked over to see that River had rejoined her. River started to lick the puncture wounds in the back of Sam's neck, trying to clean the blood off her weary partner. She was shaking, but only half as hard as Borin was.

Sam could hear the snarling of the other pack members now as they gathered around the Stargate. She didn't know how many of them were Wulves and how many were inhabited by their partners. However from the sounds she could tell that no one was on Borin's side. He had transgressed an unwritten law, a line that not even Alphas were permitted to cross.

Alaria threw her head back and howled mournfully. At the signal the rest of the pack descended upon the traitor in their ranks. Borin howled and screamed at the Wulves surrounded him and dash in to tear his skin. No one Wulf was taking the chance of moving in for the kill. Instead they had condemned him to an animal version of Death by a Thousand Cuts. 

Shivering uncontrollably River buried her face in Sam's blood spattered coat. Her increased intelligence was a blessing and a curse. She knew enough to realize something horrible was happening, but she had no way of truly understanding it. Still laying in the dirt Sam turned and nuzzled River's neck in an attempt to sooth her. 

Borin's shrill cries were soon reduced to a hoarse whimpering. Alaria had not participated, she had simply watched, her amber eyes completely devoid of emotion. Before the pack completely tore him apart Alaria barked sharply to call them off. Alaria stepped out of Sam's limited view for a moment and when she came back she had Borin by the back of the neck. 

Sam pushed herself up on her forepaws as Alaria dragged Borin in front of her and released him. Covered in blood Borin had multiple gashes where his skin had been removed completely, exposing the muscle beneath. He gasped for breath, shaking spasmodically with his eyes rolled back to expose some of their white. The ground under him was darkening with blood.

The scene turned Sam's already twisted stomach. Alaria howled once more and the others joined her. When neither Sam nor Borin responded Alaria bent down and nosed the dying Wulf. At first Sam thought that she was trying to force him into some sort of apology or repentance. However it quickly became clear that Alaria was offering Sam the kill.

_"I am not your executioner."_ Sam growled. 

Alaria did not understand. Her kind had been living as and among the Wulves for so long that instinct, dominance, and ritual had become ingrained in their minds. Alaria wanted Sam to finish the male Alpha because it would raise her status in the pack. Sam on the other hand did not see murdering a wounded creature as a way to earn respect. The woman stared at one another, trying to make themselves understood. The look in Alaria's eyes turn from confusion to horrific realization.

Tanria in Alaria's human body suddenly arrived on the motionless scene. She cried out in horror at the sight of the black Wulf broken and bleeding. For the first time Sam heard one of the native Wulves speak in a human voice, Tanria did not cry out for Borin, she wailed the name of his partner. Sam had completely forgotten that the Wulf that normally inhabited the body was going to die as well. A Wulf could not survive without their partner. 

Alaria took her human body back and wandered off to sit on the Stargate dais. Tanria sniffed at Borin, but when she caught the scent of sexual intention on him she reared back and bared her teeth at him. Still defiant Borin went to snap at Tanria and in response she sunk her teeth into his throat. Sam turned away so that she didn't have to watch Borin's last throws. Once the male Alpha was dead Tanria turned to her pack and lead them away. Even among the Wulves themselves Borin's actions were unforgivable. 

River nuzzled harder into Sam's thick fur and whimpered. Although all she really wanted to do was sleep Sam pulled River into an awkward embrace. For a moment she thought she heard River crying. However, she realized that it was actually Alaria. Sitting on the stone steps to the Stargate the Alpha had her head bowed as she wept bitterly.

Sam sighed heavily and got to her feet. She walked over to Alaria and sat down in front of her. Alaria would not look up at her so she leaned forward and gently licked at the woman's hand. She had after all saved her honour, possibly her life. 

"Don't thank me." Alaria whimpered, easily reading Sam's intentions. "If River hadn't come to me…I…I hate to think what would have happened."

Alaria looked up and stared at Borin's lifeless carcass.

"Borin has paid for his crimes against you and our pack…however, I fear that I am truly the guilty one."

_"Why do we always feel the need to blame ourselves when these things happen?"_ Sam sighed even though she knew she could not be understood._ "Borin's actions were his own. Although I do wish you had listened to me a little earlier, I still understand this was never your intention."_

Alaria listened intently to Sam yapping. To Sam's surprise she seemed to generally understand what was said. She actually smiled and reached out to touch the side of Sam's face. 

"I had such complete control over the Wulves that I fooled myself into believing that I controlled the Wolves in our pack as well."

"You can never have complete control of anything."

"I was so focused on what was best for the pack, for our species, that I lost sight of everything else. I will not ask for your forgiveness, for I do not deserve it. However, please understand, what Borin has done was unthinkable, I truly did not believe that it could happen. I wanted so much to believe that you could be happy here."

River was no longer interested in the conversation. She walked over to the empty Gate and started barking. Alaria looked over her shoulder and smiled sadly.

"River wants to go home." Alaria noted simply. "I wish you both could stay…we have so much we could learn from you."

_"I think you've learned enough."_

Alaria nodded thoughtfully. Sam was starting to think that the woman really could understand her. 

"I do not understand your words, Samantha, and I can not hear your thoughts. However it is the nature of all canines and those who live among them to see into an expression and read what is there."

_"So…I'm not misreading in your face that you can't help me become human again?"_

"I am sorry…I can not."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Sitting in the infirmary Jack sighed heavily. The wild looking Sam was laying in one of the beds sleeping fitfully. Unlike the other two there was no hint of domesticated dog in her features. Jack looked up at the slowly dripping IV that was trying to rehydrate her blood after the ordeal with the deceased Borin.

Jack had known something had gone horrible wrong the moment Alaria answered Sam's radio and asked for them to come through the Gate. Alaria had told them everything and it was only Daniel's diplomatic efforts that kept Jack from starting a war. In the end Jack had simply collected the then unconscious Sam into his arms and brought her home.

Jackson had been so excited to see his daughter that he had knocked her down on the ramp. He had not let her out of his sight since. They were currently on one of the far beds together, curled up like litter mates. Jackson had not known what to think of Sam and so far he had simply kept his distance.

Sam started kicking her back leg in a spasmodic jerking. Her eyes were rolling around under the closed lids. When she began a quiet whine Jack reached out and gently brushed her thick fur.

Jolted awake Sam lashed out with her sharp teeth. Jack was barely quick enough to get out of the way. As it was Sam clamped down on the sleeve of his shirt and shook violently. The nurses cried out an alarm as Sam leapt off the bed. Disoriented by her change in surroundings she tried to run. Slipping on the slick concrete floor Sam slid into the corner of the infirmary and slammed into the wall.

"Give her some room!" Jack ordered. "Stand down!"

The infirmary guards, and several nurses had been closing in on Sam. Still terrified she snapped and snarled with her fur bristling. Hoping he could calm her Jack approached slowly. Sam pressed herself harder into the corner and began a heartbreaking wail. Janet, Daniel, and Teal'c arrived on the scene, but kept back at Jack's signal.

Jackson and River had both jumped down off the bed. With his head low and his tail relaxed Jackson walked up next to Jack and nudged him out of the way. Jack stepped back, trusting the Wulf-mutt to know best. Sam was trying to stand on her hind legs now and sounded as though she was crying out for help.

When Jackson moved towards her she launched herself at him. Daniel cried out in panic, but Jackson knew what he was doing. Before she could strike him he dropped to the ground and rolled over on his back. Sam stopped in mid attack at the display of trustful submission. She looked up with her eyes widened in shock. Jackson reached up and cautiously licked Sam's muzzle. Realizing where she was and what she'd done Sam hung her head and whimpered an apology.

"It's alright, Carter." Jack assured.

Sam looked up at his torn sleeve tucked her tail.

"Hey, no harm no foul." Jack shrugged.

River padded up to Sam and wagged. Sam's toothy jaw split in a smile and she rubbed her face against River's. Excited to have the situation diffused Jackson dropped into a play bow. Sam glared at him spitefully.

"Uh…Jackson?" Daniel stepped in. "I don't think Sam's really in the mood for that right now…or probably ever for that matter."

Looking disappointed Jackson got back up and started a playful tussle with River instead. Daniel came up and knelt down in front of Sam. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. Sam half heartedly wagged her brushy tail.

"I'm so sorry, Sam."

Sam shrugged and then winched as the puncture wounds in the back of her neck made themselves known.

"I know you would never have trusted Alaria if I hadn't told you it was okay."

Sam leaned forward and licked Daniel's cheek.

"Daniel," Jack sighed "no one could have known what was going to happen and we needed someone's help."

"I just wish it had actually been helpful."

"Well," Janet spoke up "hope might not be lost yet."

"Meaning?"

"While I was running Colonel Carter's blood work I decided on a quick DNA test as well."

Sam's ears swiveled to attention.

"And?" Jack asked impatiently.

"According to the tests, Sam's DNA is still human."

Sam got to her feet and started barking.

"Uh…" Janet forced a smile "I don't know exactly 'what' it means yet, Sam."

"Whoa, wait," Jack turned to Janet "you understand her?"

"Not word for word, Sir. But I've known Sam long enough that I can pick up on her meaning."

"I'm confused," Daniel said "how can her DNA not have changed?"

"I have to admit it surprised me, but there is very little that we understand about Wulves. I mean the way you exchange consciousness with Jackson goes against everything I know about medicine and physics."

"True." Daniel conceded.

"Doc, if Carter's DNA is still human does that mean she can change back?"

"I have no idea." Janet admitted. "All I know is that although Sam looks like a Wulf, she is still human on a molecular level."

Sam started growling and muttering under her breath in what sounded like disgust.

"Anyone catch that?" Jack asked.

"Uh, well, Sam can correct me if I'm wrong," Daniel replied "but I think she's pointing out the fact that even if the Wulves had wanted to use her for breeding, they couldn't have."

Sam nodded.

"Trust me, Carter, even if your blood was one hundred percent pure fine grade Wulf there is no frigging way they were going to use your for 'breeding'." Jack huffed. "Although those wackjobs are clearly in desperate need of some added intelligence to their bloodline. I mean Alaria had to have known that we would have stopped at nothing to get Carter back."

"They were planning to bury the Gate."

"Daniel, we both know that would have only slowed us down, and just pissed us off even more."

Sam managed a noise that sounded very much like a chuckle. However her mirth quickly faded as her exhaustion caught up with her once again. Janet shuffled everyone except Jack out of her infirmary and with his help they got Sam back up on the bed. After Janet had reinserted the IV drip she left to busy herself in her office.

Jack took up his post beside Sam's bed once again. When she sighed it was second nature for him to reach out and ruffle the fur between her ears. Bringing her head up Sam looked at him in shock.

"Sorry…Jackson and River have me trained."

Sam laid her head back down and let out a low depressed whine.

"Don't give up, Carter. I'm sure Doc can figure something out."

Sam shook her head sadly. Alaria had admitted to her that she had never known this kind of a transfer to have ever occurred. She had lied about being able to help simply to buy more time to try and persuade her to stay.

Jack watched helplessly as Sam stared sadly at her paws. She closed her eyes and drew a deep shuddering breath. As a Wulf she could not physically cry, but he could see that she wanted to. Jack slipped his hand under her jaw and guided her to look up at him. She tried to force a smile, but her eyes remained mournful.

"Carter…you're still beautiful. More importantly: you're still you."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen

Sam bounded through the chest deep snow of a high mountain forest. The bright sun glinted and dazzled off of every surface, however it brought no heat. There were some unusual sounds in the background of this winter wasteland, but they did not concern her. The only sense she was concerned with at the moment was tracking down the source of the musky odor in the air. 

Pausing for a moment Sam bent down to sniff at the new fallen snow. Her panting breath was forming little white clouds that condensed into ice on her whiskers. Now more sure of her direction she sprinted off once again. 

Coming to the tree line of the vast mountain range Sam skidded to a stop. Throwing her head back Sam howled, her canine voice traveling far through the crisp dry air. Without waiting for a response Sam ran out into the clearing and began digging frantically at the mound of snow beneath her paws.

Jackson came racing through the trees to the clearing with River right on his heels. Now nearly a year old River was almost as large as her father, and twice his speed when she wanted to be. River began barking in excitement while Jackson began digging in the snow near Sam.

When Sam's paws hit something other than snow she stopped. Reaching down she sunk her teeth into the blue fabric she had uncovered. With all her strength Sam pulled back, slowly extracting one of the missing members of SG-3 from the snowy prison he'd found himself in. Seeing that he was unconscious she licked at his face until he stirred.

_"Your aftershave tastes horrible."_ Sam complained as the man blinked.

Sam picked her head up and turned around as she heard the snowmobiles of the rest of the rescue team catching up to them. River kept barking, serving as a homing device. Jackson was trying to pull a young woman out of the avalanche debris. Sam rushed over and helped.

There were still two missing, but now the rest of the had arrived. Sam pointed out the two places they needed to dig and let them take care of it. The medical staff worked to get the ones already pulled from the snow stable and warm. Everything seemed to be under control.

Daniel knelt down in the snow to give River and Jackson praise for a job well done. It was hard to tell if River actually understood that this had been a life and death situation or if she simply saw it as a complex game of hide and go seek. Either way she was trilled to be getting the attention. 

Excited to have all four members of the missing team found Captain Wilard of SG-5 stepped up to Sam and without thinking ruffled the fur on the back of her neck.

"Good girl!" 

The moment the Captain had said the words he realized his mistake. Sam curled her lip to show off her dagger like teeth. His eyes wide with terror the young Captain put his hands up in passive surrender. Seeing the events Daniel came over to make sure that it didn't get out of hand.

"I…uh…I am **so** sorry, Colonel Carter…Ma'am." Wilard stuttered. "I wasn't thinking."

_"I noticed."_ Sam growled._ "Do it again and I'll see to it that you get demoted to back to Airman."_

"Uh…" Wilard look to Daniel. "Dr. Jackson?"

"Sam says she forgives you…this time."

"Yes, Ma'am, won't happen again."

Sam glared at the Captain and then nodded her approval. One of the medical team called for Wilard and he was more than happy to make a hasty retreat. Daniel chuckled and sat down in the snow so that he could be eye level with Sam. The way everyone had to look down on her to talk to her was what bothered her the most at times. 

"You know he didn't mean any harm by it, right?"

_"I know."_ Sam nodded.

"It's not something everyone's used to yet."

_"You don't have to tell me that."_

"Yeah, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that."

Sam's toothy jaw opened into a smile. Daniel's translating talents seemed to even be able to cross the species barrier. He didn't always get it right, but it was nice to have someone who could at least come close to understanding. 

While Sam was distracted with her conversation with Daniel River took the opportunity to pounce on Sam's tail. Sam was not in the mood to play and growled at the young mutt. River hung her head and just sat in the snow. Jackson came over and licked at River's ears to make her feel better and soon they were chasing each other through the snow.

Back at Base there was celebration and congratulations all around for the rescue. Sam was just glad when everything died down. She didn't like the way people spoke to her in a higher pitch or used simple words and repeated themselves. She had lost track of how many times she had come close to biting. She knew she they simply didn't know how interact with her.

Daniel and Janet were the only two that still talked to her the way they used to. Teal'c barely spoke to her at all, although when she thought about it that really wasn't much different than before. Jack on the other hand, he had become increasingly talkative, as long as no one was around. 

Tired after the rescue mission Sam started heading towards the VIP room that she now called home. River was walking a few steps behind her, looking as though she was in trouble. Sam didn't have the energy at the moment to try and reassure the Wulf-mutt.

"Carter!"

Sam turned around and looked up at Jack expectantly.

"I take it you don't remember what today is?" Jack asked.

_"Days of the week don't really mean very much to me anymore, Sir."_

"Uh…anyway, I guess it's more important to River than you, but I'm sure it would mean the world to her if you were there."

_"I have no idea what you're talking about."_

"Come on, let's go."

_"Do I have too?"_

Jack didn't seem to notice Sam's grumblings. He turned around and trotted back down the hallway. River didn't need a second invitation and bounded after him with her curly tail held high. Sam sighed and lowered her head in defeat as she followed them as though they were leading her to her death. 

River was prancing around Jack as he stepped into his office. Sam wasn't sure where the young dog got all that energy. Sam looked around the office wondering why he had brought them here. Jack disappeared behind his desk for a moment and returned with small cake with a single lit candle in it. 

"Happy Birthday River!" Jack beamed.

Excited beyond being able to control herself River danced back and forth as Jack placed the cake on the floor. It looked like chocolate but Sam's acute sense of smell told her that it was frosted in liver paste. River didn't even wait for Jack to pull his hand away from the dish before chowing down on it.

"Uh…River, you're supposed to blow out the candle, not eat it." Jack pointed out. "Carter, haven't you taught this dog anything?"

Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head sadly. She looked over at River who was licking her lips and wagging in contentment. Sam had no idea that it was River's first birthday, and felt a little guilty. She stepped up to Jack and risked rubbing her muzzle on his leg.

"You're welcome." Jack smiled. 

River started licking every last molecule of her treat off the plate. Jack sat down on the floor and leaned his back against his desk. He started at the far wall silently, the smile suddenly lost. He had the look he always got when he had something say that he really didn't want to. 

_"Sir?"_

"Carter…" Jack hesitated "I know it's only been six months…"

_"That's four years in my world."_

"I know, I'm sure it seemed longer to you." Jack scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I've been fighting this for months."

_"What are you talking about?"_ Sam asked, the fur on the back of her neck slowly rising.

"You've been…" Jack tried to find the words "the Air Force can't…"

_"I've been discharged."_ Sam whimpered.

"Honorable, of course." Jack added quickly knowing she had understood. "I tried to convince the Brass that you are still fully capable of your duties as a Colonel, and that your condition was temporary, but yesterday they decided that…well…they simply can't have a Wulf serving as a Colonel."

_"If anyone thinks for one second that I'm going through the Service Dog Training…"_

"Brass understands that these are unusual circumstances, and I told them in no uncertain terms that I'm not sending you to 'training'. However you know how the Air Force is about their paperwork. Anyway…uh…long story short…officially you needed to have a handler on file."

_"Sir, you didn't…"_ Sam's eyes widened in shock.

"I'm certain that Daniel won't dare give you any commands."

_"Daniel?"_

"You look mad. I guess I would be too if Daniel suddenly out ranked me." 

_"No, it's alright."_ Sam sighed. 

Sam got to her feet, but then sat down again. She didn't know what to do. She had known that this was coming, but it was still painful. It added a terrifying finality to her new form. On paper they'd simply stripped her of her rank, in real life it felt more like they'd taken her humanity. 

With her ears down Sam bowed her head in misery. After a moment's indecision Jack leaned forward and put his arms around her. Sam buried her face in his chest and whimpered softly. Jack smoothed out the fur on the back of her neck in an effort to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry, Carter."

_"It's not your fault."_

"I wish I knew what you were saying."

Sam pulled away and shook her head. She suddenly felt the need to be alone. Getting to her paws she turned to leave. River got up as well, but didn't follow right away. She looked at Sam retreating and then over to Jack. He was still sitting on the floor, he'd brought his hand up to his face to hide tears. River wagged her tail hesitantly and leaned forward to lick him. Jack pushed her away.

"Go away, River."

River tucked her tail between her legs and slunk out of Jack's office. She trotted down the hall to catch up with Sam. Walking with her head and tail hung low Sam made her way down to the VIP room that she had claimed as her own since she could not go off Base alone to go home. 

Sam jumped up on the bed and pawed the covers back. She laid down without turning in a circle the way Jackson and River did. Putting her head on her pillow she just closed her eyes. River jumped up next to her and nuzzled her side. Sam looked up at River and sighed.

_"River, I love you…but you've ruined my life."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Epilogue

Jack had hardly slept. He'd worried about Sam all night. She had looked so dejected when he'd told her the news about her discharge. He hadn't really expected her to react any different, but it still hurt to have to watch. 

Stepping into his office Jack rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. When he looked over at his desk he was forced to rub them again. He still didn't believe what he was seeing so he took a step closer. A pair of clear blue eyes slightly obscured by a errant lock of golden blonde hair was peeking over the far side of his desk.

"Ca…Carter?"

She responded by bringing her chin up on the desk and graced him with a smile brighter than ever he'd ever seen on her face. The fact that the face looking at him was human was startling in itself, however Jack gasped violently as she scrambled up onto his desk. She was only wearing her metal dog tags. However she didn't seem to notice or care as she launched herself at him.

"'Ack!" She cried in excitement.

"Aaa!" Jack cried in shock.

Jack found himself paralyzed as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Before he could get his heart started again a warm wet contact slid up the side of his face. 

"R…River?"

River began wriggling in excitement. To keep himself from having a stroke on the spot Jack reached up and grabbed her shoulders to keep her still. River snuggled against Jack's chest and then licked his face again.

"Jack?"

Still stunned Jack looked over his shoulder and found Daniel leaning against the door frame.

"'Aniel!" River cried happily.

"Daniel…I…uh…this…this isn't what it looks like."

"Really?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Cause it looks like now that River has reached a year old she was able to switch bodies with Sam, made her human in the middle of the night, but she can't switch places again until I teach Sam how, so she was probably in here to steal your shoes, as she often does, when you walked in and she greeted you with her usual enthusiasm."

Jack stared at Daniel blankly for a moment. He looked back at River who was still smiling proudly. Jack blinked a few times and looked back at Daniel.

"Oh…um…well, in that case: this is exactly what it looks like."


End file.
